


Friends before Felldrake

by EclecticSolitaire



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017), Legend of the Three Caballeros (Cartoon)
Genre: Gonna be a slow burn - Freeform, It's gonna be slow, the pacing seems fast but seriously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-06-15
Packaged: 2020-01-04 05:21:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 43,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18337001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclecticSolitaire/pseuds/EclecticSolitaire
Summary: So the new transfer students are cool. Donald has to show them around. It doesn't help that his mental breakdown last week still lingers in his mind.But hey, magic of friendship, right? Who knows, they might stick around longer than others.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> (I'm writing this for me, so if you don't like it you don't have to continue. This is what I want to read.)

 

  
Lunch time was the hardest to avoid. There weren't many places he could hide, and there was a long time until the doors of the classrooms were unlocked. The library was his usual haunt. Everyone feared the librarian, so he was mostly safe. Mr. Anderson never bothered him.

So of course, it was where he was hiding.

Donald flipped the page of the academic textbook tiredly. Scrubbing at his eyes, he yawned and continued to listlessly track page numbers. The library was so quiet, and lunch was so long, and he'd definitely not slept enough last night. Closing the heavy book Donald stood up. There was no point in being here. The sun was shining, and he wanted to be outside, and Steve and his gang were probably smoking weed in the bathrooms. It wouldn't hurt to catch the last dregs of summer.

Mr. Anderson gave him a small wave as he left, and Donald returned the young man's gesture. It paid to be kind to him. It paid to be kind to everyone. At least, that's what he'd been told by Della a million times. But then, Della could speak properly, and didn't get angry, and was all round an amazing person. The only fault she had was being his twin. She didn't deserve him.

The screams and shouts of the other school kids echoed in his head as he leaned against the brickwork of the school. The sun shone down on him like a comforting hand to his head, and he sighed in contentment. He closed his eyes as he stood soaking up the much needed light. That is, until a shadow fell over him. He didn't open his eyes, and instead stepped to the side. Couldn't he just relax? It was a Friday, dammit, why weren't they smoking in the bathrooms? They did it every Friday! It was the only day he was free.

"You know Donald," drawled Steve, using his shorter stature to his advantage and getting too close to the white duck, "we could stop bothering you."

Donald did not believe that.

"All you have to do is ask." Of course.

"Please stop," he mumbled, cringing into the wall. He hated his voice sometimes. The group began to cackle, and Steve grabbed his shirt to pull him down. Once they were eye to eye, he smirked.

"Speak up, we can't understand you."

"I said, stop." Donald ground out. Steve grinned maliciously. Stepping back, he snapped his fingers, and two of his thugs grabbed Donald by the shoulders. They dragged him to the ground, and one of them 'accidentally' kicked him as they walked away. Donald could hear one of them mimicking him, and bit back tears. He was sixteen, he shouldn't be so scared. However, that wasn't the issue at that moment. His mouth tasted like gravel.

As the bell shrieked, Donald swerved into the bathrooms. He checked out his injuries in the mirror and washed his hands in icy water. Just a few scratches, and a bruise under his feathers where the guy had kicked him. That hurt the most. Donald scowled, and entered a stall. Screw classes. He was going straight to the manor.

-/-/-\\-\\-

The walk wasn't too long, barely twenty minutes, and Donald didn't know why his uncle insisted Duckworth drive them around. He scowled and kicked a rock. It rebounded, of course, and struck his eye. Donald blinked away tears and kept walking. Not bothering to ask to be let in, he scaled the gate of the manor, and stomped up the path.

Creeping up the stairs, he avoided the main rooms and snuck to his room. At least he tried to. A cough from behind him caused him to stiffen, and turn around very slowly. There stood his uncle, Scrooge McDuck, looking for all the world like he was seeing something on the bottom of his shoe.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. He sighed angrily and looked at his cane. "Here I thought you were starting to behave better. Donald, I'm disappointed in- lad?"

Donald clenched his fists and stared at the ground. His hair covered his eyes, and he was shaking. But his face wasn't it's usually rage red, so he wasn't throwing a tantrum. But still he shook. And then he hiccuped. And sniffed. And looked up and by God, the easily enraged Donald Duck was crying. His tears were massive, almost comically large, and his face was scuffed. He shivered. Then he sank to the floor and the previously quiet tears turned into fully fledged howling and screaming. Duckworth came barrelling down the hallway, only to slow and stop next to his employer. Donald was clutching at his shirt and curled into a ball. It seemed almost... Uncanny.

Duckworth stepped forward slowly, and gracefully sank to his knees beside the young master. He awkwardly reached out to pat him. And Donald snapped.

He wasn't even coherent at this point. He pushed himself into the butler's side, pulling at his feathers. They came out in clumps. They left little patches of skin that pricked red and shine with blood. Not a lot, but enough for Duckworth to grab his hands and hold them tightly. Scrooge felt out place.

"Should I...? Make tea?" He asked weakly.

"I think that may be a good idea," Duckworth responded, over Donald's frantic noises. "I'll come down to aid you once I've put the young master to his bedroom."

Then there was silence. They both turned to Donald, who appeared to have fainted. His breath was shallow, but he appeared otherwise fine. Duckworth scooped him up, and stride towards his room. Placing him on the bed, he proceeded to the bathroom to grab the medical kit.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Mistress Della?" The spunky young girl looked away from the front of the school. "Donald is already home. I'll discuss this in the car."

-/-/-\\-\\-

Della looked at her twin with worry. Whilst they were close siblings, she never knew what Donald was thinking or feeling. During school hours she was so busy with friends she never really hung out with him. She realised now, why she was the one with all the sleepovers when he never seemed to have anyone over.

He was awake now, on his side, facing the wall. When she'd come in, he had been mumbling, but had stopped immediately.

"Gonna tell me what happened?"

Silence.

"Did someone hurt you?"

"Thanks for finally noticing," he rasped in a whisper. She winced. She probably deserved that. "I'm tired."

"Of what, Don?" She wondered, laying a soothing hand on him. She'd walked past the large pile of white feathers earlier. She knew he was probably very sore.

"My voice, for one." He sounded so small and ashamed. "No one picks me in class for a partner. Steve and his gang have gotten worse. I'm tired of hiding during lunch and break. I'm tired of being the disappointment. I'm tired of my down."

How could Della forget. She'd known for years that Donald had that rare genetic disease. It made his duckling fluff stay after all his 'adult' feathers came in. When they came in, they were far softer and more vulnerable than others. He'd often complained to her. She guessed she'd never really realised how much of a problem it could present.

"Is there anything I could do?" She asked.

"Unless you can magic up some friends for me," Donald snapped, "then no."

Beat.

"Sorry."

"I know."

But Donald didn't know that Della knew the school's security passwords for the principal's computer. And Donald didn't know that they had two transfers due in a week. And Donald definitely didn't know that Della knew just how to get him to be their first day guide.

She smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy shoutout to the one commenter last chapter who wanted more. I've got seven chapters written after this already, but from now I'll update about once a week. Probably like two chapters on a Saturday, maybe one idk.

  
Donald went to school on Monday with a heavy heart. He really had begged his uncle to not make him go, almost working himself to tears, but before he knew it Duckworth was peeling rubber. His sister sat in the car next to him, looking vaguely pleased with herself. Instead of asking what was so good about the world, Donald played with his long sleeves and fiddled with the hem of his shirt. The flannel he was wearing was definitely too big but he wasn't complaining. Under it was a new blue t-shirt with an anchor on it. It had appeared in his closet, and if Uncle Scrooge wasn't going to mention it, neither was he. It felt incredibly soft.

All too soon, the school loomed in front of him. His sister gave Duckworth a high five before disappearing into the swarm of kids that pulsated around the playground. He just waved to the butler despondently. Slipping into the throng of teens, he snuck into the hallways. He kept his head down and walked quickly to his homeroom. He sat down silently, and opened up a notebook. It had almost nothing in it, other than a few music notes doodled in the front cover. Before he could put pen to paper, the rest of the class filed in and filled the room with chatter. He kept his head down, and waited patiently for role call. At least at the back he had two empty seats either side of him, and he didn't have to catch anyone's attention.

"Donald Duck, please report to the office. Donald Duck, report to the office." The intercom crackled with static, all eyes turned to him. Sliding off of his chair, he crept out of the room, blatantly terrified. It confused a few classmates, who knew him for his brash, angry demeanour. He walked down the hallway, wondering what it could be. Skipping school on Friday? No, his Uncle had dealt with that. Stealing paper from the science classrooms? Surely not, they were always overstocked anyway.

He knocked on the big black door nervously. He couldn't be in trouble. He just couldn't. Not after- oh.

Two exotic looking birds swivelled their heads to regard him curiously. The Principal, Mrs O'Mallard, pushed her glasses up her beak. But Donald wasn't looking at her.

One of them was a rooster, which wasn't actually that exotic, but he wore a massive sombrero. His feathers were a glossy rust colour, and his eyes seemed too large for life. His tail feathers were long, and twitched in excitement at the new person. He had two pistol holders on his belt, which were actually holding a pencil case and water bottle. His outfit was a pinkish red thick strapped tank top and dark blue jeans. He seemed puppy-like. Innocent.

The other was a parrot. He wore a button up yellow shirt and black bow tie, and held a black umbrella. He also wore a hat, but his was just a straw boater. And holy heck, if Donald had thought the rooster had long tail feathers, there were nothing on this. The Parrot's reached the floor and were red and blue. They swayed, and Donald nearly got entranced. His normal feathers were a shiny light green, with a darker green sheen. He felt like he knew how life worked, and knew the system well enough to beat it in a game of cards.

"Donald." Oh, damn, the Principal. "This is Panchito Gonzales-"

"Actually it's Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzales the Third!" Interrupted the rooster. He smiled, and for once it wasn't mocking. The principal flushed and continued.

"This is José Carioca. They're the transfer students from Mexico and Brazil respectively. I've decided that you will be their guide for their first day, so don't disappoint." Donald nodded. "Don't be rude, answer me."

Donald turned slightly green from embarrassment. He looked at the ground.

"Yes, Principal O'Mallard, I won't disappoint." As the teacher launched into her usual speech to the new students, Donald wanted the ground to swallow him. Once she was done, he beckoned to the new kids. "Follow me."

They picked up their bags. Panchito's was clearly made from something else, and it looked to be a burlap potato sack. José had a shiny leather satchel that had beautiful embellishments. Donald touched his plain black one and felt like he was more boring than ever.

"So, Donal'," José began, "why do you sound like that?"

"Because I do," he answered, and tried his best not to sound rude. It was halfway through the first lesson, and though they had late passes, Donald decided they might as well skip the whole thing. "What lessons do you have?"

"I don't know," Panchito admitted. "My inglés is not good when it is the reading. What does this say?"

Donald took out his own schedule to compare it and felt his heart sink. They were in all of his lessons except history and religious studies. All of his lessons he sat in the back row with the empty seats. They'd be stuck with him. He needed to warm them before something bad happened.

"Well, you are mostly with me, so you can follow me, but you have history alone and religious studies alone. José, you're with him in those. You guys should be glad you aren't stuck with me for so long," he half joked, and led them to their lesson. "We've got Math now."

The two foreigners looked at him, then two each other, and smiled. Panchito thanked him first, shaking his hand vigorously enough to send him into a slight state of bounce. And José... José kissed his cheeks. Three times. Two on his left and one on his right.

"Obrigado, Patinho, you truly are a good first friend to make!" He said cheerfully, only to become confused at Donald's lack of response. His face had turned turned to pink, and he was gently touching his cheeks in what seemed to be wonder. José was confused. "Something wrong?"

"Don't do that," Donald said, looking panicked. He grabbed José by the shoulders. "Please, I know you probably have a far cooler culture than us, but if you do that to anyone people won't be very nice. Actually, try to only come to me if you desperately need help. If they see you hanging out with me they'll get you too."

"Anyone?" Asked José, looking upset. "Not even you?"

"If no one is around, go for it," what was he saying?! "But please, please, I beg of you, find friends. Don't make friends with me, because you will get hurt."

"Why would we get hurt?" Panchito asked with a tilt of his head.

"I have a speech impediment, in case you didn't notice," Donald explained. "It's hard to understand me. And I get angry easily, and I still have duckling fluff. I'm not cool, and I get bullied, and you guys don't derserve it, you shouldn't be bullied for being my friend."

Panchito and José looked at each other uneasily. Finally, they were understanding. They weren't-

"Why should we care?" José asked. "I certainly don't care. Bullies exist everywhere my friend, and you seem far nicer than them."

"Yeah! You're way nicer than anyone I've met so far! Anyway, even if I get bullied, I can just call up my older cousin Deandra, and she'll kick their tails." Panchito swept them both into a backbreaking hug, and Donald realised just how tall the Mexican was. And how short José was.

"It's too late, Donal'," José's smug voice said. "You're stuck with us."

Donald felt okay with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE BOYS
> 
>  
> 
> If you get the MPGiS reference I love you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still goddam Saturday, even though it is near midnight

  
The second the trio had sat down, they ran into a problem. Panchito could barely read english, and José couldn't find his pencil. The second problem was easy to deal with. The first was less so.

As the lesson progressed, Donald spoke under his breath to Panchito, who in turn wrote down the work in Spanish. They could work on translating it at break time. The plan seemed foolproof, until the teacher slammed her ruler on Donald's desk. He was then thoroughly talked down to. She spoke as if he was an idiot, or a really young child. She berated him for disrupting the lesson, despite the literal fights that broke out between the other kids.

"Actually, Señorita, he was just helping me," offered Panchito.

"Helping you?" She scoffed. "He can barely help himself. He should really practice writing more, that's at least legible. Honestly, Donald, you should really enlist in some speech therapy."

And so the lesson continued, with a thoroughly chagrined Donald. He continued to help Panchito, and when she had her back turned, stuck out his tongue. His new friends giggled, and went back to work. The minute the bell rang, Panchito had somehow packed all of their stuff and dragged them outside. He spotted an oak tree, and dragged them to it. He sat in the shade and grinned up at them.

"It's break time!" He said. José shrugged in agreement and sat too. Donald glanced about. More kids were filling the playground, and this was the best spot. He sat down, and for the first time in a month, as his friends began to talk to him, his face lit up with a genuinely happy grin.

Della skipped up beside them, posse of girls around her. Hannah, a goose, tugged at her hand. She looked nervous.

"Hey Bonnie Donnie!" She said, and Donald opened his mouth to call her something probably just as bad.

"Don't be mean to him!" Cried out Panchito, grabbing the duck's head and pulling it to his chest. "For shame, he's such a nice person!"

Della took a step back in surprise, before a happy smile spread over her face. Her friends looked astonished at the fact that the new guys at school were not only cute, but thought Donald of all people was nice.

"She's my sister," Donald said, resigned to his fate. José hopped up, removed his hat and bowed. He pressed a kiss to Della's hand, before looking up. Donald laughed at her shocked face.

"I should have know that beauty runs in the family," he said with a wink. Some of the girls shrieked. "Forgive us, but Patinho Donal' here has told us that he's been in a spot of discomfort with some troublesome fellows."

"His accent is so hot," whispered one of the girls.

"Shut up, Diane," hissed another.

"Let's go girls," Della said, stifling a laugh. She curtsied low to José, and he smiled, delighted. Then the entire group was gone as fast as they'd arrived. It was a little disconcerting.

José sat back down, and turned nervously to Donald.

"Can I still kiss girls on the hand?" He asked sheepishly.

"Sure," Donald Grunted, trying to free himself from Panchito. The rooster wasn't letting go. "Let me go!"

"Why didn't you tell us you had an older sister?" Demanded the rooster, opening his arms. Donald flew back, and blew a raspberry at him.

"She's actually my twin. Twins and triplets run in the family," he explained, brushing dirt off of his hands. "Anyway, more importantly, we have gym next. I'll see you out of the change rooms, okay?"

"Don't you change with the rest of us?" Asked José. Donald thought of his patchy arms, and the bruises. He thought of the duckling fluff that was especially visible around his upper back, shoulders and collarbones. He thought especially hard about the reactions of the other boys in the change rooms. Their confusion and guilt. Their repentance. Hmmm.

"You know what, why not. I wasn't going to until next week, but screw it. You guys do have gym clothes right?" They both nodded an affirmative. "Great! We're doing trio dodgeball today, so I guess we're set. Unless you don't want me, in which case I'll just-"

"I thought we were past the whole: 'you guys shouldn't be friends with me' thing," Panchito asked. José raised an eyebrow, and sipped out of a wine glass filled with orange juice.

"Wait, where'd you get that José?" Asked Donald.

"My secrets are mine to know," said the parrot mysteriously at the same time Panchito said "From his bag."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Panchito, you cannot wear your sombrero to gym class!" Argued Donald. The rooster refused to remove it, citing that he felt naked. José simply reached over and plucked it off, hanging it on a hook next to his boater. Panchito shot him a dirty look, and began to remove his jeans. "Hey, José, can you help me with getting this damn flannel off of my arm? It's stuck."

"Of course Donal'!" The parrot chirruped happily, and dutifully tugged at the material. It took a few moments, but eventually it came off. Donald grinned and hung it up, and pulled off his shirt. And suddenly the two realised why he decided he was getting changed elsewhere before.

He looked very vulnerable, with so many feathers missing. The fluff he'd talked about peeked out of his feathers on his shoulders and upper back in several puffs of yellow. He had a deep blue and black and green bruise high in his side. Before he could catch either of them staring however, they turned back to their own clothes.

"Hey, Donald, what happened to you?" Jeered a slimy voice. Donald sighed.

"You know what happened to me," he said blandly.

"I don't know what the feathers left for. Needed some extra money? Did you get someone to pay you to do freaky shi-" Steve cut his words off as he was punched in the beak. Panchito flexed his fist, and stood up straight. "What the hell, man?!"

Panchito didn't respond. He simply waited until his friends were done, and the three of them walked out in silence.

"What the heck, 'Chito!" Asked Donald. He'd not said anything in the changing room, but he was confused.

"If I hadn't been busy I would have done the same," vowed José darkly.

"Guys!"

"We're thrashing them in dodgeball, si?"

"Sim, we are."

"Guys," Donald said, and his tone caused them to turn. They looked so protective, and so worried Donald almost melted. "You know what? Let's give them hell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEET BONBEET  
> I GOT ASKED FOR PICS  
> OF BEETS
> 
>  
> 
> again my life is weird


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You don't have to love this.
> 
> You don't even have to like this.
> 
> But you asked for this, so respect it!
> 
>  
> 
> ;D

Surprisingly they hadn't actually done that badly. They were up against three of Steve's cronies, and it seemed that whilst the three had experience working together, Donald, Panchito and José had the upper hand. The rooster distracted them by occasionally shouting and running about. Whenever they threw the balls, José danced away, flicking his tail up in a showy flash. And Donald? Suffice to say, he was no weakling, despite his injuries. His aim was true and his strength left the opposite team with red marks. All too soon the whistle blew, and the teacher called out the scores.

"Nine to five. Duck's team wins." Holy heck. Donald's team had won? Not to mention, by quite a sizeable margin. José grabbed his hand and pulled him into a group hug. The trio was laughing, and they could hear the other team cussing them out. Unfortunately for the thugs, so did the teacher. "You three, to the office!"

Is this what friendship was like?

-/-/-\\-\\-

Donald bid his goodbyes to his new pals. They smiled and waved as they walked off, Panchito to the left, and José to the right. As he sat in his Uncle's car, Donald grinned to himself. Throughout the ride he chattered and laughed. Duckworth felt confused relief at the change in attitude. It seemed the young master had made friends. Della, well, felt accomplished. Her plan had worked.

Even at dinner, Donald's happiness high kept up, and he actually engaged his uncle in discussion. About business no less. Delighted, Scrooge tried to ask what had gotten him into a good mood.

"I've made friends with the new students," he replied. Scrooge raised an eyebrow.

"What are their names?" He asked, leaning forward. Was he going to do some background research on children? Yes. Yes he was.

"José Carioca and Panchito Romero Miguel Juni-something something Gonzales the third." Donald offered, before slipping out of his chair. "I'm going to bed. Night, Uncle!"

"You hacked into the school again, didn't you?" Scrooge said.

"Oh, absolutely." Della replied.

-/-/-\\-\\-

When Donald woke up the next day, it took him an hour to remember his new friends. He had just finished blearily shovelling cereal into his beak when his face lit up, and he felt his entire body float up with happiness. For once, he was glad to be going to school, and it showed. He ate faster, and rushed upstairs. His bags lay where he'd thrown them the night before. Donald snuck into the kitchen with it, and placed a massive chocolate bar in it. Technically he'd bought the bar with his own money from dog walking, but Duckworth would definitely moan if he found out he ate the entire thing.

Waddling out to the car, he patted the sleek surface impatiently. Duckworth chuckled and opened the doors. He started the engine, and they were off in a puff of smoke. They drove far quicker than usual. They arrived at school, as Scrooge would put it, lickety split.

They were almost too early, as the gates were only just being unlocked. Della grabbed her brother's hand, and the two of them darted inside to explore the nearly empty school. It felt strange. Too big and empty. Were Della or Donald dissuaded from discovery? Never. An outlandish thought.

"So, Bonnie Donnie, tell me about your friends," Della asked, opening her locker. Donald shrugged as he opened his, on the other side of the hall to her. "Before you do, do you have any emergency pads?"

"Here. You really need to start stocking your own locker, Dumbella. And what do you want to know about Zé and Panch?" He begrudgingly tossed her the little package and leaned against his locker. She gave him a grateful smile, and threw it in her bag.

"On cute nicknames already? Best friends is pretty soon," she teased. Donald swiped at her, and they began to walk to her homeroom. "Why don't you invite them over? Scrooge won't mind, in fact, he'll probably throw a ball to celebrate you finally getting friends."

"It's too soon," Donald said. He opened her homeroom door, and paused in the doorway. "Isn't it?"

"Ask him tonight," Della shrugged. "See ya in music."

"See ya."

Donald pondered on what his sister had suggested. Perhaps it would be a good idea. She always had her friends over for sleepovers, and to hangout, and to have 'super secret girl time', which was code for 'makeovers'. He should know. She practiced on him often enough. As he sat in his seat, the bell rang for homeroom, and people began to stream in. He was so lost in thought he almost missed his friends sitting down next to him.

"Do you guys wanna come over this weekend?" Damn you loose lips! He just hoped they wouldn't sink any ships.

"Sim, that would be, as the Americans say, awesome!" José replied immediately. His tail was practically sweeping the floor as it wagged lazily, colourful in the otherwise bland classroom. "For how long?"

"A sleepover," Donald said, growing excited. "I have no idea what guys do at sleepovers, but I'm well versed in what girls do, so you guys will really have to help me out."

"I think I can make it," Panchito hummed, scratching his head. "I don't really know what's supposed to happen at sleepovers either. What do you know?"

"Girls usually do makeovers, like, with makeup, and have pillow fights, and style hair and watch sappy movies whilst eating pizza and crying over Ryan Gooseling." Donald said. José nodded at the name of the actor.

"I cannot blame them," he said. "I too shamelessly cry at his acting. I know all the words to the songs in La La Land." Donald giggled, and the three settled into easy conversation. They all learned new things, like how Panchito's favourite colour was blue, Donald could sail a boat, and José wore fantastic homemade costumes for Carneval.

"Boys, please keep quiet," snapped the greying teacher. They apologised and switched to whispering. Donald began to get progressively quieter, until he stopped speaking altogether. The other two exchanged glances, and stared into his suddenly vacant eyes.

"Uh, Mister Teacher Sir?" Called out Panchito.

"What."

"Somethings wrong with Donald!" The old swan's head snapped up. He looked fearfully at the small duck, and looked ready to evacuate at any moment. Once he saw that he wasn't getting angry, the teacher settled down, and waved his hand.

"He'll be fine, he does this once in every while. Just shake his shoulders," he said dismissively. Panchito frowned, but did as he was told. Donald gasped, and blinked rapidly, becoming aware of where he was. He caught sight of his friends faces, and smiled reassuringly. Before they could speak, the bell rang for their first lesson.

"Who's ready for some math?"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Miss Della!" Called out a foreign and breathless voice. The duck in question swivelled around in confusion, until her eyes alighted upon José Carioca. She came to a stop and waited for him to catch his breath. "Donald did something strange, and we want to know if it had happened before. Does he ever just go, what the word, espaçado? Space out?"

"Did his eyes go all unfocused?" She asked curiously. José nodded. "Usually it just means he got lost in his mind, and is thinking some bad things. Just give him a gentle hug, it'll bring him down."

"The teacher said to shake him." Della glared.

"Don't do that. Just hug him, he'll be fine. Speaking of, where is he?" She asked, peering around. "And Panchito? I thought you guys were all best buds?"

"Does Donald really think that?" Asked José, stars in his eyes. Della nodded. "He is my 'best bud', too! And so is Panchito! They're already in music, I just came to ask you about that."

"Did he ask you over for a sleepover?" Della suddenly questioned, leaning into his space. "If not, you and Panchito are invited."

"He did! We are going to do makeovers, and pillow fights, and he said something about Ryan Gooseling! I've never had a sleepover before, and he said he's only really known what happens at girl ones."

"You like Ryan Gooseling?!" Della half shouted. José gave her a look.

"Who doesn't?" 

"Walk with me to music, José. We must discuss."

-/-/-\\-\\-

When José walked in with Della, Donald couldn't hold back all of his sudden jealousy. He stuck his tongue out at her, and she replied in much the same way. 

"Dumbella, can these two join our group for the performance?" He didn't really ask. He more of implied they would be either way. She rolled her eyes and nodded.

"I could never deny someone with such fine tastes in actors." She said snarkily, before collapsing in her chair. "Let's do this."

The teacher soon threw them all to the wilds of the practice rooms, and before anyone else could steal it, Donald and Della staked their claim on the one with both a drum set and piano. Panchito swept a guitar off of the wall mounts, and José pulled a flute from... Somewhere. His sleeve? His bag? No one could tell.

As the door swung shut behind them, it sealed all of the secrets told inside it. What happens in the practice rooms stays in the practice rooms, after all, as all music students know. It's practically a royal decree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All for the punssssssssssss


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like posting, and so I shall, though it is neither Wednesday or Saturday.

 

  
The week passed in a blur. After Panchito had slugged Steve across the face, Donald wasn't bothered anymore, and he felt so much better. It was like a heavy weight on his shoulders had lifted and his spirit posture was straighter. Okay, a weird analogy, but Donald felt it worked well enough. His family definitely noticed his sunnier despostion. He hadn't gotten mad in a while now, and his good mood seemed to be an everlasting summer. Donald felt faint worry for the return of the angry winter. It would return, he knew, but it was so easy to forget it in the warmth of joyfulness.

By the time the weekend rolled around, it felt like they knew all of each other's secrets. One could start a sentence, and the other two could finish it. There wasn't a single day they didn't spend break under the oak tree, nor a day where they left each other's sides. The whole school knew by now that they were thick as thieves. The whole school also knew that Panchito punched Steve, and he was damn near celebrated among the student body. The rooster made it clear that that would happen to anyone who did anything to his friends. Donald and José said likewise.

People mostly acknowledged Donald's threats.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Saturday dawned overcast. It almost seemed depressing, but hey, not everything could go their way all the time.

Time felt like sand on his feathers. Donald sat by the buzzer for the gate to McDuck Manor, sighing despondently as hours trudged by. He managed to somehow complete his homework, clean his room again and rewatch a season of Quackers, the comedy about ducks (He didn't exactly enjoy it, but mindless entertainment y'know?) all in under four hours. It would be at least another two until they arrived, and Donald was going mad.

So was Della. However, her reasons were different.

"Where are they sleeping?" She asked, a checklist in her hand.

"In my bed," mumbled Donald, not looking from the buzzer. Before Della could speak, he added, "It's got clean sheets!"

"Dinner?"

"Whatever they want. Scrooge gave me like thirty bucks for takeout as long as we don't disturb him too much. Duckworth agreed." There was a buzzing noise, and Donald's face lit up. It fell again when Della pulled out her phone.

"Well, the last thing to worry about is you guys staying up too late," Della said, checking her list. "No later than one am. You'll regret it."

"Whatever Dumbella. Thanks for the help." He muttered, still glaring at the clock. The minute hand ticked and he groaned.

Della sighed and walked off. She swore her brother would probably marry those two if he could, given they were all he talked about. She was so glad they'd stopped sharing a room at nine years old. Della couldn't imagine how little sleep she'd get trapped with his rambling.

-/-/-\\-\\-

The speaker crackled to life. Donald practically flew up from his sprawled position on the floor, and slammed his hand on the speaking button. José's voice filtered through, slightly distorted.

"Is this McDuck Manor? I'm looking for Donald," he said charismatically, and Donald snorted.

"You found him, Zé. I'll buzz the gate open, just walk up the drive. I'll come meet you. Is Panch there?"

"Nope, my friend." Donald felt butterflies beat his heart when he heard the last few words. He could barely believe his luck. For once, it wasn't working against him!

He pressed the button for the gate and ran from the manor. He skidded round corners and fell down stairs, startling Duckworth, who was ascending them. He shouted an apology, and threw the front door open. Sunlight streamed in, and fell on his feathers in a comforting touch. There was a speck in the distance, and Donald barrelled towards it. José opened his arms and ran forward too, and their collision hurt in the best way.

"Hello Donald!" José half shouted, kissing his cheeks zealously. Donald laughed. "It has been barely a day, but I missed you!"

"Me too," Donald admitted. "Come on, I'll show you to the room. You can get a tour of the estate later with Panchito, if you want to, or we could just chill in my room. You good with bed sharing?"

"I don't mind, my friend, as long as we all fit," joked José. "Though seeing where you live, I doubt we'll have troubles."

-/-/-\\-\\-

When Panchito had arrived, the earlier celebration was repeated twofold. Both Donald and José had their backs nearly broken by the over enthusiastic rooster, but neither minded. The second all three of them were together it felt right. Like they were never meant to part. José repeated his earlier greeting of kisses with Panchito.

"This is the best day ever!" Shrieked one of them. They were all so excited it didn't seem to matter who. They all entered the manor to drop off Panchito's bags, before Donald suggested they hang out in the pool. Neither of the other two had brought swimsuits. With a shrug, Donald took out his other five pairs. They were all similar, and if they were a bit short on Panch and a bit baggy on Zé, who cared? They didn't. Before Duckworth could ask them what they were up to, they were in the water, splashing and shrieking.

"Young Master, is this wise?" He shouted. Dodging a splash he yelled again. "Just make sure you dry out completely before coming back in!"

"Yes Duckworth," said Donald, as he sunk to dodge a water attack from his left. "You guys are so dead!"

They stayed in the pool for at least two hours, until Panchito could barely stand in the shallow end. The rooster called it quits, laying on the stone to dry out his sopping feathers. He dried quickly and the other two soon followed. They all panted in exertion. The second they dried off they ran inside to change. Though it was barely four in the afternoon, they were in their pyjamas.

"I brought only the best," Panchito over exaggerated, pulling a soft pair of flannel trousers out of his bag and a thin strap tank top. "Made by, uh, Gucci himself. For me. As a favour, for um, saving his kids?"

"Well," José said, ready to upstage him. "My pyjamas are made from handspun silk by a colony of spiders, which I saved from moon aliens. They live in Brasil though, so you can't meet them."

"Ahem," Donald coughed, and spun in his nightgown. "Curtesy of the richest duck in the world himself, Scrooge McDuck, a nightgown made in the style of Victorian children, passed down through the ages. It's called 'vintage'."

The three of the burst out into giggles, and soon were rolling on the floor. It hasn't been all that funny, but it drove them to tears. They calmed down enough to start changing, laughing again when Pachito fell to the ground whilst pulling up his trousers. There was a knock, and Della walked in, disregarding the screams of the semi-naked José.

"Uncle Scrooge says not to be too rowdy after nine," she informed them. She glanced at Donald. "You need to buy your own pyjamas. You cannot keep wearing that."

"It's comfy, Dumbella," he protested, and shoved her from the room. "Now stay out! This is boys only tonight."

"Whatever," she called, and wandered down the hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got Mother Knows Best from Tangled stuck in my head helppp 
> 
> Also got plans like another seven or so chapters lmao


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you goes

 

 

"Just so you are warned," said Donald, "I have been on many adventures. I am well versed in the art of attack and defence, I am a master of-"

"Comer almohada, lechón!" Panchito yelled, slamming his cushion into Donald's beak. This sparked a retaliation from the duck, who hit him back.

"Não olhe agora, mas vou pegar vocês dois!" José half screamed, raining several pillows from above. The two below him fell under the blows, and he stood victorious. "War is fought in trenches, my friends, but pillow fights are no man's land."

"We get it," wheezed Donald.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Donald handed José his ninth pack of tissues. They were only three quarters of the way through The Notebook, but damn, he could really cry over Gooseling. They'd already finished a pizza and a curry each, and there was a half eaten tub of icecream in José's lap, and each of them clutched spoons.

"He's so beautiful?" José half asked.

"We know," Panchito replied cheerfully. "You've said so twenty seven times!"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Are you sure this is how sleepovers go?" Asked Panchito as he watched Donald and José. The two of him glared from the floor, faces smeared in mud masks and feather softening pro-duck-ts. With no warning, they dragged him to their level.

"Sit on him José, I'll get the creams."

"No, no, noooOOOOO!"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"What's it like to die?"

"Probably like eating spaghetti. Confusing, sometimes messy, but an enjoyable thing all the same."

"Donal' you need a psychologist."

-/-/-\\-\\-

There was only silence as they stared at José. He was wearing one of Della's cropped shirts and some short shorts. Donald had found a brown wig, and Panchito had worked on finding the shoes. José had done his own makeup.

"You look like a Tiffany."

"Dios Mio! No, he looks like a Morgan."

"Darlings, I'm a goddam Britney."

  
-/-/-\\-\\-

"Wait, so you actually just licked the tree?" Asked José incredulously. Donald nodded, leaning back on his multitude of pillows. When he'd turned fifteen, his Uncle had asked what he'd wanted for his birthday, and his sleepy mind could only think 'comfiest bed ever'. Well, his uncle didn't disappoint. A king size bed with a mattress made of memory foam and some weird infused stuffing. Not to mention the luxurious sheets and pillowcases. Della asked for a car, and you bet she got it. And nearly killed her brother with it.

"Well, it was jelly or blood. So I needed to check," he shrugged, checking his cards. "You know what? I'm folding. I don't understand black jack at all."

"Come on, amigo," coaxed Panchito. "One more game?"

"Guys, it's literally two am," Donald tried to protest. His friends have him a look, and he sighed heavily. Slowly, he began to deal the cards once more, to their whispered cheers. As soon as he picked up his hand, he felt like screaming. He didn't, but he felt like it. Eventually the game drew to a close, with José winning again. Panchito argued that he had cheated, and soon they were all whisper-yelling about the logistics of card games. Donald took a moment to study the situation.

He was in his bed, with his two friends. He was full and happy. He was tired, but the hazy glow around the trio felt like gold, and nothing could penetrate their simple being. His chest swelled, and his heart and eyes fluttered. His eyelashes felt like weights on his cheeks. Was he really that sleepy?

"Donal', you need to get under the covers," murmured someone. He groaned and obeyed. As soon as he was situated beneath the duvet, the lights switched off, and a heavy weight settled to the left of him. José? It was mirrored by a lighter weight to his right followed by Panchito's sigh of contentment. "Goodnight."

"'Night, guys," he mumbled in response, slipping away without trying to hold on.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Ow," muttered Panchito, rubbing his eyes. Someone had kicked him awake. The room was too dark to see by, and heavy rain lashed at the windows. Strange. There hasn't been a forecast for a storm. A strange garbled noise next to him snapped his attention to the person at his side. Donald was sleeping strangely, twitching and giving quiet quacks. Panchito frowned. What was he to do?

Without warning, the duck snuggled closer to him. Surprised, he could barely move. After a few moments, he lay his arm down gently on his friend's feathers, and-

Sweet lord.

Donald was soft as all heck. It felt like his hand would keep sinking into the glorious down. Panchito shook José awake, and took the half asleep Brazilian's hand.

"Feel." He placed his hand back on Donald's feathers, gingerly petting them.

"Oh my god."

-/-/-\\-\\-

The first to wake up was Donald. It was nearly eleven o'clock, and his tongue felt heavy with sleep. He couldn't lift his arm to rub at his eyes, and wondered why. He belatedly noticed how it was being held by Panchito like a teddy bear, and his legs were sprawled over José's torso. He couldn't move without waking one of them, and so resigned himself to his fate. Sunlight streamed through a crack in the curtains. It left a line of heat on his stomach, and moved as another half hour passed. Slowly, Panchito awoke, gripping his arm tighter before loosening his hold. Together they lay still, waiting for the last of them. Eventually José opened his eyes, and deciding he was happy with where he was, closed them again.

It felt right.

At least, it did until Della screeched in, slamming the door behind her. She barely glanced at the three of them in compromising positions before throwing herself under the bed.

Duckworth soon followed her, entering more carefully. Once he noticed that the boys were awake, he cleared his throat.

"Did Young Mistress Della-?"

"Nope," Donald responded, snuggling further into Panchito's side. "She isn't here. What did she do?"

"It involves a corkscrew, gum and twenty maple leaves," The butler said mysteriously.

"Keep your secrets," Donald muttered, and José made an agitated noise as he tugged away some of the covers. The parrot rectified this by simply curling closer to the other two.

"Not to alarm you, Young Master, but it is nearly twelve o'clock. Aren't your guests expected home soon?" The duck moaned in response.

"Not until four," Panchito supplied helpfully, content with this current situation. "And even then, my host parents are very lenient. They like that I made a few friends so soon!"

"Same with me," José said from beneath the covers and Donald's arm. "As long as I check in every few days and they know I'm alive, they're chill."

Duckworth raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He left the room, glancing around suspiciously, and closed the door once more. Della rolled out from her hiding place and took several deep breaths.

"Thanks guys see you later I'm on the run Donald give my stuff to charity but you get first pick bye!" The window slammed closed behind her. None of the boys cared what it was about. Had staying up 'til two been a good idea?

Looking to the people beside them, they each privately thought 'yes'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me writing this chapter; nice
> 
> Me reading comments; FANTASTIC to know peeps be liking this


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to our regularly scheduled posting! Enjoy a fresh new chapter.

 

 

"Your boyfriend left his umbrella," noted Della.

"First up, not my boyfriend, second up, he never leaves it anywhere. Are you sure it isn't- oh yeah that's his." Donald looked at the umbrella in confusion. He'd never seen José put the thing down, let alone forget it at all. But there it sat. Black, sleek and begging to be touched. "I wanna touch it."

"Well why don't you?" Asked Della. "You're gonna have to if you take it to school tomorrow."

"Yeah," Donald said. His throat felt dry, but he picked it up. It felt heavier than a usual umbrella, and the lacquered handle was softer than silk. His sister snorted in exasperation and flounced out of his room.

"Maybe you can confess your love to that in lieu of actually saying it to him!" She shouted over her shoulder.

"I don't love him!"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"José, you left this at my place," Donald said. He held out the umbrella, and it looked like a weight was lifted from the brazilian's shoulders. He grabbed it reverently, tracing the soft black fabric and rubbing at the wood.

"Did you polish the handle?" He asked in a bewildered tone.

"Yep."

"Thank you, my friend," José began, "I am very grateful." He smiled at Donald, who's heart melted. He'd do it anytime.

"I learned a new English word!" Screeched Panchito. The classroom still wasn't full, but the higher of his volume caused quite a few winces from the not yet awake teenagers. "Ah, sorry. I just learned a new word!"

"That's great Panchito!" Donald said encouragingly. "Can you write it, or just say it?" To his surprise, Panchito whipped out a piece of paper and began writing. After a few seconds of scratching, he handed it proudly to his friend.

Donald read the word. Then again. And again. He sighed heavily, folded up the paper, and shoved it down his throat. Swallowing, he looked at his friend's half impressed, half terrified faces.

"Don't... Just, why?" José patted him on the shoulder, curious enough to ask what could possibly be that bad. Donald gave him a look, and he kept quiet. "Where did you read this?"

"Steve was sticking it to your locker on a sticky note, so I asked him, and he said it meant 'happy'!" Before it could be discussed further, the teacher walked in, and the other two took their seats.

"Class, I have an announcement," she said in her usual drab voice. "Tomorrow is mandatory vaccine day. If you do not come to school tomorrow and fail to give good reason, you will be isolated for three days."

It didn't matter what she said from there, because the entire room had erupted into conversation. Donald felt indifferent. What's another shot when you've gotten so many of them for adventures in foreign lands? Panchito seemed fine as well, remarking that he scratched himself with rusty nails so often that he was used to being given a needle in the arm and a fair scolding. However, it seemed José was a little worse off. His green feathers had somehow paled, and his eyes darted towards the door.

"My friends, I have remembered something urgent. I cannot come in tomorrow," he drawled nervously. Donald turned to him, and raised an eyebrow. Panchito leaned forward, so he too could look at his friend and raise an eyebrow.

"Are you scared of needles?" Asked Donald quietly. José glanced about. No one was listening to them. He swallowed and slowly nodded. Donald placed a hand on his arm in sympathy. "It's ok. We'll go in for moral support. This school lets friends go in groups together."

"And," Panchito butted in, "if all goes wrong, I can probably distract them long enough for an escape!"

"Panchito, kind as that is, I must decline. I try to make a good impression," José said.

The room soon settled down, and lessons began. All the while, Donald kept an eye on José, ready to reassure him, and show his support. Panchito even offered the Brazilian some of his homemade lunch. It was for the best that José didn't take it, because there were more chilis in that dish than there were teenagers in their classes. Donald on the other hand found this out the hard way.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"We got jabs tomorrow," Donald nonchalantly informed his uncle. Scrooge barely looked up from his meal. "One of my friends is scared."

"Can't be as bad as Diane," muttered Della. "That girl has to be carried in, kicking and screaming, and strapped down. Then she faints as soon as the needle is shown."

"Well, at least you two are fine with them," Scrooge said decidedly.

"Yeah." Donald muttered. "Kinda had to get used to it. Anyway, can you pass the salt?"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl," murmured Panchito. He was leaning against the hallway wall with Donald, who was trying to console a now shaking José. "With yellow feathers in her hair, and a dress cut down to there."

"Now is not the time to be singing Copacabana!" Hissed Donald. Panchito winced; whoops. "José. Is there anything you do to calm down?"

"Not unless I'm alone, or with people I trust very much," he replied through a chattering beak. He looked for all the world like he was about to sink gracefully to the floor and bawl his eyes out in fear.

Panchito glanced at Donald. Donald gave him a look right back. The game of wills was fierce, but there was no way Donald would lose to his friend. He'd rather die than deal with him being all 'I beat you in a test of mental fortitude'. Not that that's how Panchito would go about it but Donald wasn't taking chances.

"Next!"

Now or never. Two of the three began to move forward, when they stopped and glanced behind them. José was frozen, muttering rapid fire Portuguese and what sounded like a prayer to Maria. With a sigh Donald merely kept walking. Panchito turned back and picked up José in a fireman's lift, carrying his limp friend into the little room. As soon as they were in there, he put him back down, and checked to see what Donald was doing.

The duck was rolling up his sleeves. Already sitting down. He simply watched as they removed the needle from the packaging and prepped it. He stared into the nurses eyes as they injected him, looking slightly bored and uncaring. The second they were done, he simply accepted the sticker on his shirt and stepped back. He hadn't flinched once.

"Ok, I'm done. Panch, you wanna go next?" He asked, offering to hold up José, who was clutching at Pamchito's arm. The rooster let José attach himself to Donald before sitting down, kicking his legs and gazing about the room.

"Young man, we are going to need you to sit still for this," one of the nurses said, and he stilled his feet. As she gently pushed aside his feathers, he shivered. It felt too impersonal to be preening but just similar enough to be uncomfortable. The sharp not-hot-not-cold of the needle was gone as quickly as it arrived, and he graciously accepted a sticker as well. His had a fire truck. Nice.

"José, amigo, you ready for-"

"You know what, Panch? I don't think he is." José was apparently impersonating a koala. Honestly, his thigh strength was to be marvelled at, as well as Donald's ability to stand straight with him on his side. "Help me roll up his sleeve."

Panchito hopped to it. He unbuttoned the cuff, and rolled it up gently as possible. José had clearly left this plane of reality. The parrot couldn't tell what was going on. Donald sighed, and moved to sit down again. Before the nurse could, he delicately moved José's feathers out of the way. José had buried his head in Donald's shoulder. Panchito held his other hand. He squeezed it tighter and tighter as the needle actually pierced him. The second he was bandaged up and given his sticker, the other two worked quickly to fix his sleeve and guide him outside the room.

Once in the hall they speedily steered him southward, towards the isolated music rooms. Screw lessons. And screw the people who thought they were above stickers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was based on my own experience. However, whilst I was José whilst getting my shots, I also sang Copacabana to cope with my fears before going in.
> 
> Can't lie, I wanted some angst lmao. Diane is also based on me somewhat, as when I was getting a blood test in hospital for the seventh time in two days, I was pretty goddam sick of it and needed some time for it to stop.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're probably wondering if I edit these before I post. Sometimes.
> 
> Bet you're wondering when!!!

 

 

  
"You ready to speak yet?" Said someone softly. José didn't look up from the dark wood of the handle of his umbrella. He didn't care to speak. All he knew was that he was safe. With safety came the sudden urge to cry and hide. Before he could hold them back, several tears curved down his beak, dripping with salty little splashes on the floor. It seemed that when the first few escaped, all he could do was let more loose, and dear goodness, he really was squalling and squawking. A pair of arms encircled his shoulders. His face was smushed into soft flannel and cotton by another. The darkness made it easier for him to let go, and all he could do was grip tightly to the persons holding him and try to remember that he was fine and good.

"Cry as much as you need, amigo," a voice said. He knew that voice. That was Panchito, his Mexican friend in an American school, and the guy he'd had a sleepover with and bonded with over foreign languages and religious studies and a hatred for pine nuts on anything other than ice-cream or by themselves. He hiccuped.

"We're all right, it's over now," added another voice. Donald, his other best friend. The boy he'd met first in the school who wasn't Panchito, the boy who was scared they'd be hurt if they were his friends, the one he talked about adventures and Brazil and Bahia and a love for pineapple on pizza with. Of course they were there. They had gone in with him.

His arm ached. He didn't like that. His crying was slowing down, and soon enough he was breathing evenly and deeply, feeling drained and sleepy. He pushed away to rub at his damp and sore eyes. When he opened them, Panchito were slightly blurry. He blinked.

"Obrigado," he whispered, smiling, watery and tired. "My friends, I don't believe I can go back to lessons just yet. Feel free to go, I'm going to rest a bit."

"Don't be silly!" Crowed Panchito, sitting on the floor cross legged. He yanked José onto the floor with him, carefully arranging him so his head was in his lap.

"We aren't going anywhere until you're okay!" Donald agreed, kneeling down. He took one of José's hands in his own, and let the other fall on his lap. "Trust us!"

"I do," he murmured, already slipping into sleep after his emotional event of the day. "I trust you with my secrets."

"What?"

"I do magia negra," he answered, falling into darkness.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Well. Google says that magica negro is Brazilian for black magic." Donald whispered. "I've been around enough magic to believe in it."

"Yeah, but José never seemed the type of guy to do," Panchito paused, nervously scratching at his neck feathers. "That stuff."

"No one seems like they do black magic," Donald said sourly. Sensing a story, Panchito let the subject drop, and his eyes fell to the sleeping parrot in his lap. When he breathed out, his beak made a little whistling noise. It was rather sweet.

"Well, it's lunch now, so I could grab us something for when he wakes up," offered Donald. Panchito snapped his head up, eyes widening. "Yeah, I know, you like the pizza. I don't get it, it tastes like cardboard."

"See you!" He whisper shouted, and the door closed softly. Pulling out a pad and paper, he set to doodling on one of the last few clean pages. He sketched out a cute little heart. Then another. And another. Goodness, he sure was drawing a lot of hearts recently! He might as well draw some other shapes as well. Variety. As he listened to the rhythm of the pencil on the paper, he heard the whistle of José had fallen silent. However if he wasn't moving, neither was Panchito. He'd speak when ready.

After a minute or two José sat up, rubbing at his eyes, yawning and stretching. As he did so he winced. Cautiously lowering his arm, he patted the worst area gingerly. When that produced more pain he quickly let go.

"How long was I asleep for?" He mumbled.

"About an hour and a half. We missed history and French." Panchito answered, barely looking up from his notepad. The door clicked. "Donald's got us lunch."

"I've got lunch, and I even got you your gross pizza," the duck muttered, closing the door behind him. He sat down slowly, so as not to spill any of his purchases. Panchito darted in for the pizza.

"Graçias Donald!" He crowed.

"José, I got you some stuff from the salad bar, and one of those weird sandwiches you like."

"Obrigado," he said in a soft voice, dragging the items toward him drowsily.

"And I got me a muffin. There was a guy selling Sprite Cranberry behind the gym, so of course I bought some. School can take our time, but not our energy drinks," he drawled, lazily taking a swig of one of the cans. Then he cringed. "Oh yeah, there's the cranberry."

"So José," Panchito said between bites of pizza, "what's up with the black mag?"

José nearly choked.

"My friend, don't just ask that!" He protested. "It's... Complicated."

"Well. We've got another half hour of lunch, so get talking," Donald grumbled around his muffin. José swallowed.

"It's like, ah, electrical currents? But more than that, like... energy. And there are different colours of energy, and some people are more attuned to one colour. Understand so far?" Two heads nodded. "My cousin does best with illusions, so his colour is yellow. Mi mamae is really good at barriers and protective enchantments, so she's purple. Oh, and my uncle does, as you Americans say, smoke and shadow manipulation, so his colour is pink!"

"So what colour are you?" Asked Donald. Panchito nodded.

"Yeah! What colour are you, José?"

"Well," he hesitated. "I'm young, so I have dabbled in all colours, but I'm especially good at green magic, which is to do with sounds. But mi mamae says I could have secondary colours, because I'm also good at smoke and illusion colours."

"Wait. Secondary colours?" José lit up.

"Well, basically, secondary colours are when you are also proficient in other magics. Only one other person in mi familia has secondary colours, and that's cousin Margie." José sighed. "She's the best."

Donald and Panchito looked to each other. Then to José. Then to each other again.

"Yes, I will show you."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"How was your day, Donald?" Asked Della in the car on the way home.

"Um-umbrella," he murmured, looking flabbergasted and mesmerised. "So cool."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I edit all these chapters I'm joking 
> 
> Please feel free to comment, I'm thirsty for contact with readers.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie Dili
> 
> Me being a sad sack, wrote this. Enjoy

 

  
Donald stretched and yawned at his desk. A month has passed since Panchito and José had joined his life, and he felt so very blessed every day. However, today he felt more tired than blessed. He'd only gotten three hours of sleep due to the incessant thoughts running around his head. If it could be thought, it was, and it continued down a thread that always led to embarrassing moments.

"Amigo, wake up. It's nearly roll call," whispered Panchito. Donald grumbled and sat up, glaring at the ceiling.

"Patinho, if you do not cheer up I'll be forced to do the worst I can," hissed José. "I will poke you with my umbrella."

Well that woke him up. He blinked twice, and yawned again. Sure enough, his name was soon called out by the teacher.

"Donald F. Duck?"

"Present," he said, leaning on his elbows.

"Is Donald here?" She asked, looking up.

"I said, present!" He repeated, and she took notice of him. His temper flared a bit, but he squashed it down fiercely.

"Speak up next time. Hunter Dyxon?"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Hey Donald?" Called Panchito. "Your flannel is inside out."

"Thanks, Panch." He replied, taking it off and switching it around. As he replaced it, he noted how it felt much comfortable this way. How had he not noticed this morning?

"No problem!" He replied cheerily. "Oh! Look, the 'happy' word is on your locker again!"

"Panchito that's not what-" José started, then sighed. "Sure. The 'happy' word." Donald shrugged his shoulders and tore the note off.

To his surprise, it was actually written again, in permanent marker, beneath the paper note. He dragged a hand down his beak. He did not have time for this. Donald merely took out some paper from his locker and stuck it over it, hiding it temporarily. His temper was building, but he felt fine enough. He was determined to not get angry around his friends.

"See you after history," he said, walking from his friends. They waved goodbye, and got to chatting as they turned the corner. The rest of the walk felt oddly silent. Jeeze, he really was getting too attached to his friends. But that was normal; Della said it was.

As he stepped inside the classroom, the racket quietened. Not bothering to care why, he simply slumped in his chair and waited for his assignment back. Once they'd all been passed around, he glanced at his grade. A-, but still an A. He'd not lost his touch then. Just as his mood improved, the teacher called him over.

"Yes, Sir?" He asked, leaning on his desk nonchalantly. "Have I done something wrong?"

"Well, I've noticed that recently, you seem to be reading aloud to yourself at the back, Donald," Mr George said. "Are you having trouble with reading?"

Embarrassment flooded his face, and he mentally slapped himself. Damn it. He heard snickers behind him, and shot a cold glare behind him. The group of girls shut up immediately, and he felt even worse. He wasn't going to hurt them, God. Was he really that scary? He was sure he didn't look intimidating.

"Sorry, I'm just used to reading to Panchito, his English reading isn't the best yet. I guess I was just on autopilot," he drawled, cementing the fact that he was a good person to his classmates. See? No need to be scared of his infamous 'temper'. He was getting better. He was working on it.

"Oh, I see. Well, back to your seat, Donald, I have a lesson planned I think you'll enjoy." He nodded stiffly and slouched back to his seat. Fiddling with his shirt cuffs, he stubbornly kept his eyes shut. Then the teacher pulled up an adventure he'd gone on with his uncle two years ago.

"Today's topic; Scrooge McDuck: What can he teach us about the past and present of treasure hunting?"

Why, hello there aggression and embarrassment.

-/-/-\\-\\-

  
Donald was reaching his boiling point. If another thing happened before he met up with Panchito and José, he refused to be responsible for his actions. They'd asked to meet him behind the gym today, because José had learned a new illusion trick, and was desperate to show them. Just the thought brought as mile to his face as he trekked the concrete of the playground to the gym. He bumped into Della on the way.

"Better move fast," she said, looking upset and concerned. "Your friends got into a fight with Steve's whole gang. They're getting thrashed- oh phooey, DONALD, NO!" It was too late. His face had turned bright red, and his fists were clenched. He began to run, and Della dreaded the fact that it was only a matter of time until the entire gang was injured. Or worse.

Donald arrived on the scene in the nick of time. José was cowering behind a dumpster, trying to get away from two massive henchmen. His left eye looked dark, and there was a cut on one of his cheeks. His hands were trembling, and three or four green feathers littered the ground. Panchito was being held up by his tank top, and a fist connected with his stomach as he scraped and bit at the hand holding him. He doubled over as much as possible, groaning in pain, and Donald spotted red liquid dribbling from his nose. There were more than a few red feathers on the ground, and the one that stood out most was one of his tail feathers. It lay soiled on the ground, trampled by careless feet.

"HEY." The group of five paused. Steve's eyes widened, but he tried to keep his cool. He stared at Donald, who was shaking with ill contained rage. "Put Panchito down. Let José go. Let's make it a fair fight, why don't we?"

"What, five against you?" Taunted one of the larger henchmen. Donald cracked his neck. Throwing his flannel to the side, he got in a lower fighting position.

"Wanna call some friends, even the playing field?" Donald shot back. The grunts frowned, but let his friends go. They ran behind him, and he motioned for them to stay back. "Sorry that you two have to see this."

And then he let himself go all out.

Shouting a war cry and swinging his arms wildly, he tackled the first guy to the floor. Before anyone could blink, he was on another's shoulders, yanking at his hair and slapping his face. Still shouting. He managed to trip two over by running at their legs. He was still shouting. He finally somehow climbed on Steve, and snapped his eyelids up, before forcing him to ram his head against a wall. He clutched at Steve's forehead, and his knuckles caught the brunt of the blow. As he fell, Donald jumped off of his back. There was blood on his fingers.

"Don't touch my friends, Steve Turner. Ever," he whispered "again."

There was a horrified squeak from behind him, and suddenly Della was grabbing his wrists. She turned his hands over, staring at his bloody knuckles in shock. She was soon replaced by the faces of the people he least wanted to see right then. José was giving him an indistinguishable look, and Panchito was just as unreadable. They took his shoulders, and guided him to the nurses office. Della followed close behind, after giving Steve a bruise to match Donald's earlier one. He grunted, and lay still, groaning.

The trip was silent. It felt like purgatory to Donald. The second he was bandaged up by an indifferent nurse, they drew the curtain around the bed and sat beside him. Della saw the look on José and Panchito's faces. She nodded and stepped outside.

"So," José started.

"Gonna tell us what that was?" Finished Panchito.

"I was just angry," Donald said. "And when I get angry, that angry, someone, someone gets hurt. Most of the time it's a person I love, but I only do it to try to protect those I care about, and I do care about you guys, you know?" He took a shaky breath, and scrubbed at his eyes. Don't cry, don't cry. If he cried he'd just be asking for sympathy, and he just wanted them to understand. "It's okay if you don't want to hang out anymore."

"Why wouldn't we want to hang out with you?" José asked, inspecting his plaster. It was hello kitty, and he seemed to be working with it. "You just saved us."

"Yeah, it's not like we're scared of a bit of, uh. Rabia? Rabia- rage! That's the inglés. We aren't scared of rage," Panchito offered. He was gently combing through his tail. "Does my tail look weird?"

"A little," José said.

"Will it grow back?" Donald asked.

"It should," he frowned, touching the sore spot softly. He winced. "I hope. Two feathers looks plain weird."

"That's good then."

"We mean it, Donald," insisted Panchito at his dismal tone. "What happened was that stupid guy's fault, not yours. He clearly knew it would happen."

"My friend, do not forget, it is also hard to not like you when you are so soft," José said. As Donald turned to look at him incredulously, he shrugged. "Literally and figuratively."

Oh. Well, that certainly made him feel a hell of a lot better. Donald gave a weak smile, and the awkward air around them cleared.

"Did you see their faces when I showed up though?" He smirked. "Priceless."

"That was hilarious," chuckled José.

"They looked like they'd seen a storm," Panchito said, and soon they were all laughing as if nothing had ever happened.

Outside, his sister breathed out in relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk if I'll keep posting after next chapter. Comment if I should.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoink said the yo yo master, yo yo-ing my dreams away

 

 

"Donald got in another fight today!" That was the first thing said when the twins got home. Della had dragged him up to Scrooge's office, a confused Duckworth simply standing by as the Young Master was dragged by his feet. Donald almost cursed him for it.

"Gee, thanks Della," he muttered. Crossing his arms, he looked away, hunching his shoulders. He really didn't want to see his uncle's disappointed face. He could hear the heavy sigh being built up. He could feel his not-angry-but-not-surprised-just-disappointed speech.

"But!" She shouted, before Scrooge could speak up. He paused, and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. He was intrigued. "He got into a fight to save his friends. And there's camera footage on my phone showing how José and Panchito were being beaten up. So I need your help to bring in the authorities, or just permission to-"

"Della." With a voice like ice, Scrooge cut her off. She froze, and nodded. Patting her brother on the arm, she left the office, and the patter of feet running away signalled that they were alone in this section of the mansion. "Donald."

"Yes, Uncle Scrooge?" He mumbled.

"Another fight. It's been nearly a month and a half." Donald cringed further into his flannel, and nodded. He forced his eyes to drag towards the desk, but didn't look higher than the darkened wood. "Anything to say for yourself?"

"Not much more than; 'I'm sorry'," he said, and pulled his flannel further around him. "And I want you to know they pulled out one of Panch's tail feathers, and nearly broke his beak, and José was hiding behind a dumpster and two of them were going after him. I have nothing else to say."

"Well, I have something else to say. I'm proud of you."

Donald whipped his head up so fast that he felt his neck crack. His uncle was smiling gently at him, resting his chin on steepled fingers. Scrooge opened his arms, and Donald practically flew into them. Surrounded by comfort and familiarity, he nearly started crying. He didn't, not on his uncle's hand embroidered silk robe, but he could have.

"I'm so proud. You didn't start this fight, but you went in to save your friends. You know what, laddie, I think I quite approve of these new friends. They inspired your protection and friendship. I believe I've not seen you this happy in a few years," his uncle said. Donald hid his face in the shoulder of his red jacket, burrowing away from the world. Never mind. Now he was crying. Loudly. "So I'm not angry. In fact, I'm glad. Now run along. I know you usually call them at this hour because this is when not even Della interrupts you. Instead, she interrupts me."

Donald nodded and got up. Giving his uncle a watery grin, he turned to leave the office. As he got to the door, he hesitated, and turned around.

"Thanks, Uncle Scrooge," he said, and ran out. Behind him, Scrooge McDuck began plotting on how to get the two of Donald's friends over for a little... Discussion.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"José, what do you mean you can't sing? I've heard you, you sound great!" Donald protested from the double bass. Similar sentiments were echoed by Della and Panchito. "We need a singer, and you're best suited for the job!"

"My friends, have you considered that Panchito can hold a note? Or that Della can hit the high parts?" He protested, clutching his tambourine. Though his feathers covered his black eye, it was still swollen, and his beak had a scuff he'd not managed to buff out last night.

"Yeah, I can hold a note, but it's hardly ever the right one!" Panchito said, fiddling with his guitar strings. As he tuned, he winced at each odd note. His tail seemed lopsided, and when they'd gone to retrieve his other feather, it was gone. Donald suspected it was one of the gang members, but he couldn't be sure.

"Not to mention, I'm on drums," Della added. "You aren't getting anything from me." As if to show why, she slammed her sticks on the cymbal. It left Donald holding his ringing ears, and wondering why it was always him that was closest to the drums.

"But, but-" José protested, "are you sure? I earlier had to repeat my question three times to Mr Boulder. He said my accent is really thick." The room began to heat a few degrees as two certain ducks felt their tempers rise.

"Mr Boulder is racist, José," Donald said as calmly as possible. "I think your accent is amazing to listen to."

The room seemed to pause a moment, and Donald felt himself freeze. Though the others acted as if he'd said nothing weird, he suddenly felt very self conscious. It felt like the room drained to monochrome. Why had he added that last bit? Sure, José had a sweet accent that made him want to do anything he asked, but wasn't it a bit weird to call it amazing out loud? Way to go, Donald. Same stupid stuff as always. It will be only a matter of time until they think that you're just a no good, strange, useless- oh.

Three pairs of arms were holding him, and the room suddenly filled with colour again. He blinked a few times. Slowly, the cold constriction around his heart melted, and he loosened his shoulders from their tight hunched up position. What was he thinking? He'd just complimented a friend, that's all.

"You doing good there, Bon Don?" Asked Della, running her hand over his back.

"Yeah," he said, rubbing under his eyes. Good, no tears. "I'm good."

"That's good."

-/-/-\\-\\-

That night, two birds started to get ready for bed. One polished his beak as the other struggled into pyjamas, unaware of each other as they finished their routine a mile apart. However, at the exact same time, two phones lit up with bright buzzes, and two heads wondered who it could be. Checking their phones, they each stared at the same message.

"McDuck Manor. This weekend. Donald will be told you are coming over this Saturday. He thinks you are just coming to visit. But there are things we must discuss.

-Scrooge McDuck."

Two birds gulped simultaneously, and two birds suddenly wondered what on earth could they have done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter to comment if I should continue or not. Criticism welcome, but I will cry lmao


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the support!

 

  
"Hey guys, you free this Saturday?" Asked Donald, cocking his head as they stood in the lunch queue. Panchito froze, and José elbowed him in the gut. One look told him that if they did not go, they'd both break Donald's heart and probably get a more... Forceful message.

"We are, Donald. What do you have planned?" José asked. Panchito nodded, rubbing his arm. José had some sharp elbows for a guy so fluffy and rounded.

"Well, my uncle said you can come over, and I was wondering if you wanted to touch some magic (possibly cursed, probably not) treasure or, you know, go on an adventure." He babbled, smiling eagerly. The two nodded in agreement and he felt his heart leap. "Okay, so there's this map that leads out into a forest just outside the city, and if you go in there's a ring of stones. Basically, you have to sing this specific song..."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"... And once you've killed the beast, I think, the treasure is yours." Donald finished, shoving his sandwich in his mouth.

"Donald, I don't think we are suited for slaying a beast," José said nervously.

"Are you kidding?" Breathed Panchito. "That sounds awesome! Count me in!" He grinned widely, and twitched his tail excitedly.

"Well, I'm not letting you two go in alone," José sniffed. "I'll bring snacks and provisions."

"Thank you José!" Chorused Donald and Panchito. The three of them set to eating lunch in earnest, occasionally tossing different items to each other. José hooked a sandwich from the air with his umbrella, whilst Panchito just caught food with his beak. Donald settled for being civilised and placed his unwanted tomatoes on his sandwich box for Panchito to eat and José to curse at. They all had such strange tastes with food, Donald took a moment to admire that fact.

José liked spicy things, the hotter the better. If it scalded the mouth of a normal person, it merely tickled his tongue. He had terrified the lunch room by consuming a whole chilli pepper once, and then asking for some tabasco.

Panchito liked savoury foods, and tomatoes were his favourite fruit. He liked food that tasted strong and wild, food that seemed over seasoned to an unused palate. He liked the things most people blanched at, and enjoyed strange combinations. People still shook at the mention of broccoli, jelly and chocolate.

Donald just liked food. If it wasn't a tomato, mushroom or God forbidden eggplant, he ate it. With where he'd been, it made sense. No point in being fussy if all there happens to be is snake meat.

As they took their trays back, Donald grinned to himself. More time with his friends! Yes!

-/-/-\\-\\-

The week passed in slow motion, time crawling like a legless sloth for Donald. For his friends, it felt like less than a minute before they were entering the gates of McDuck manor, and starting up the drive. They'd met up before hand, so as not to be before or after the other.

"Hey guys!" Shouted a distant figure. Panchito narrowed his eyes, and squinted past the sun. Donald was waving wildly, looking excited beyond all reason. Beside him, José laughed at their friend's antics.

"He is rather cute, isn't he?" The parrot noted, leaning on his umbrella. Panchito looked down at him as Donald leaped down the steps. "Not to say you aren't, Panchi."

Before he could process that, he was barrelled over by a one hundred and twenty pound duck. Donald laughed as he squeezed the life out of the both of them, and Panchito filed the information away for later pondering.

"Donal'!" José shouted, kissing him on both cheeks vigorously. "My friend, it is so good to see you! It feels like forever!"

"We saw each other yesterday," Panchito added, confused but smiling.

"But it feels forever, no?" José replied, raising an eyebrow.

"True," Panchito said as he shrugged his shoulders. "So, what is on the, how do you say, ajenda?"

"Agenda," Donald corrected, brushing off his shirt. Flipping his hair out of his eyes, Donald added "but I like the way you say it."

"Donald, oh my god, I spilled ink on your carpet!" Della's voice drifted down into the courtyard. "You'd better come quick! Duckworth will help José and Panchito, just hurry!"

"Della; what the actual heck?!" He shrieked. "Okay, you guys, Duckworth will come help you out, I'll be back in like ten minutes. I am so, so sorry!"

"It's fine!"

"Go ahead!"

"Thanks you guys!" With a blue blur, Donald was gone. He is loud quacks could still be heard.

Silently, José and Panchito trudged into the manor, following the suddenly imposing butler through darkened halls.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Once Duckworth had led them into the study, he left them with Scrooge McDuck. The richest bird in the world. Someone who was currently staring them down with the tenacity of a man many years younger. The duo stepped closer together, trying not to shake.

"My nephew means a lot to me," he said, breaking the silence with a sledgehammer of unsubtlety. "And he has told me enough for me to know you mean a lot to him."

"He means a lot to us too," José gulped.

"I should hope so! That boy of mine is incredibly hard to make happy. Before you came about, I hadn't seen him smile earnestly in weeks. Not to mention, I think I saw his tail wag for the first time in months. And for that, I must say; thank you." The two stared at him, incredulous. "However. If you decide to in any way harm him, you will find yourselves in grave trouble. Understood?"

Panchito nodded firmly, and José bowed at the waist.

"Well, we would never hurt Donald. So far, he's tried his best to help us. He reads the words on the board to me, and helps me with my inglés in writing and in reading." Panchito said, eyes glinting with determination.

"Not to mention, he's taken on foes we two couldn't take down together, and he's been nothing but kind and sweet this entire time." José added, crossing his arms. "We would not dream of doing anything to him."

"Then we have nothing to worry about," Scrooge sipped at a tea cup. "Well, now formalities are over, let's move to light hearted conversation. Anything planned for Autumn break?"

The abrupt change in subject startled them, and Panchito edged forward gingerly.

"I'm going back to Mexico, to my family's ranch," Panchito said. "I'm hoping my tail grows back. I can get a train across the border, and be with them in no time!"

"I'm staying here," José added. "I'll only fly back for Christmas. Rio is expensive to fly to."

"Fair enough, lad." Scrooge shrugged.

The door slammed open, and an ink stained Donald stood, panting. He grasped at his knees, leaning in the door frame.

"Uncle Scrooge," he wheezed, "if you can't find Della after ten hours, I'll tell you where she is."

"Sure thing. Donald, I'm done with your friends. You may all go now." As Scrooge waved them off, Donald grabbed his friends' hands and began to drag them, no longer out of breath.

"Thanks! I'll bring you back some treasure, if there is any." He called out, leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me; would they say a swear
> 
> Me; I want them too
> 
> Me;... They wouldn't.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unicorns and bulls and amulets, oh my!

 

 

"I thought unicorns were supposed to be nice!" Shrieked José, scrambling up a tree.

"Donald! Help us!" Yelped Panchito, bolting behind bushes in an attempt to hide. It didn't work.

Donald glanced up from his braiding and stared, unimpressed, at the rioting mythical creatures and his terrified friends. Patting the creature's blue mane, he stood up. Holding two fingers to his mouth he whistled a shrill note. The two unicorns cantered over, and began nuzzling him.

"Well, it's safe to say, you two are awful at being pure of heart," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey!" Shouted Panchito. He gulped and ducked behind the bush again as a unicorn turned threateningly.

"Just kidding. They probably just don't like you. They don't like Della either," Donald shrugged, patting their flanks to send them into the forest. "And here I thought unicorn riding might be a better idea than beast slaying."

José slid to the ground, and gave him a look. Panchito mirrored it. Under the combined weight of their glares, he sighed.

"Fine!" He said. "We'll go to the Minotaur. Get in the circle." He gestured to the ring of stones, and began to sing. His voice was awful, and he definitely missed a few notes, but the words were clear enough for the spell to have worked. With a blinding flash, the three found themselves suddenly a lot warmer.

"Donald, where are we?"

"Crete."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Okay, so through there, to the left and- we are here!" Donald said. José and Panchito came to a stop behind him, and gazed up at the massive door.

"Oooh, lovely work on those pillars," murmured José.

"They sure are tall!" Panchito agreed.

Donald rolled his eyes and knocked on the door. After a few moments it opened, showing a skinny bull in a flimsy dressing gown. He stared down at the trio, lazily blinking. They stared back.

"What do you kids want?" He asked gruffly, scratching his shoulder. Donald felt his mouth fall open. He looked down at the old parchment, then back to the bull man incredulously.

"I thought this was supposed to lead to a labyrinth, not some guy's house!" José moaned behind him. "I was hoping to find some cool treasure too."

"Oh! You guys are here for the labyrinth! Oh of course, you guys are explorers right? Gotta say, you do look familiar though," the bull said. Stretching out a hand, he grinned and introduced himself. "I'm Manny."

"I'm Don-" before he could finish, Manny slapped a hand over his eyes and slammed his head on the door frame. The three glanced to each other, and back to the bull. He was muttering under his breath and seemed to have had a revelation.

"Ohhhhh. Oh my god. That's- oh man. Uh. Yeah, okay, what did Xandra say to do with the three caballeros? Right, uh, okay." Manny muttered. "Ahem, well, introductions not needed. Basically, I'm going to chase you through this labyrinth now, and once you've outsmarted me, you get the treasure. Sound good?"

"Sure," Panchito cheerily replied. "When do we start?"

"Now."

-/-/-\\-\\-

  
"Why did he have to be fit?" Whined Donald, panting. José couldn't reply, to busy focusing on keeping up with Panchito's long strides. "I say we split. He said to outsmart, not outrun."

"I'll take left," José wheezed.

"Right."

"And... FORWARD!" Donald yelled, and the three made like a banana and split. Manny roared behind them, and continued to follow Donald. "Well, phooey."

He kept moving, sliding under fallen pillars and jumping over large boulders, until he came to a dead end. With sharp horns bearing down on him, Donald sank to the floor and covered his eyes. Suddenly, a gargantuan scream was heard, and Panchito dropped down on to Manny's shoulders. The bull, confused, slowed his run, and was swiftly turned about by a high whistle. At the other end of the corridor, José was waving a large red cloth, and Manny's pupils narrowed.

With a roar, he plunged forward as Panchito whooped on his back. Donald got to his feet shakily, and ran after them, ready to help José in any way possible. Slipping behind the bull, he sped past him to José's side, and rolled a rock behind the red sheet. José nodded and as Manny got close enough to grab them they swung away. The bull tripped over the rock, smashing face first into the ground.

His face had activated a hidden panel, and the trio slipped inside an opening door as he groaned on the floor. As it closed behind them, Donald gave a heavy sigh.

"Thanks you guys," he murmured, heart pounding like a jackrabbit in May.

"No... Problem," Panchito replied between gulps of air.

"We'd better grab the treasure," José said, standing up. "Wait seriously? Three measly amulets?" And lo, there were three amulets. One red one, a blue one and a green one.

"There's an inscription!" Donald said, dusting at the base of the pedestals. "'Only for the Three Caballeros. No one else. I'm looking at you, Felldrake.' Yeah, okay, so probably a joke."

"Well, they match our colours," noted Panchito.

"What?"

"Red for me, Green for José and Blue for Donald," he said, already grabbing the red triangle. "Ooh, feels tingly."

"That will be the magic," Donald sighed. "Well, he's not hurt, so I'm taking blue. Let me just grab that and- oh damn. That sure is tingly."

José rolled his eyes and grasped the green. Sliding it over his head, he shivered as sparks flew in his stomach. He felt his own magic react, and a puff of smoke left his hands as a loud trumpet noise went off. Shaking himself, he schooled his magic.

"Well, Donald is correct, that's a magic feel right there," José agreed.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"So, did you boys have fun on your adventure?" Della asked sweetly. Three sour looks were sent her way.

"There wasn't even any treasure. We did get these cool necklaces though," Donald conceded. "But nothing else. Also, the spell to get back was meant to be said backwards, so I got us home but we are very, very burnt for it. I see Uncle Scrooge cut you down from the tree."

"Young master, it's quite hard to not notice the singed edges." Duckworth intoned.

"We know," José said sorrowfully. He looked particularly pitiful, his feathers sooty and darkened from their usual vibrancy.

"Shall I run a tonic bath?" Asked the butler carefully. All three nodded.

"Yes please," Donald groaned.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"The water is nice and warm, as you like it. I can also run seperate baths for you two, if you so desire?" Panchito looked at José. José looked at Panchito.

"Why run two full baths-"

"-when we can all share together?" They said, and ran into the bathroom after Donald. "Keep your pants on, Patinho, we are getting in too!"

"Guys! No, don't!"

A very wet splash was heard. After a heavy sigh, all went quiet, and Duckworth left. This was not in his job description. If he came back later and found all three passed out on Donald's bed, still slightly damp but at least clothed, he said nothing and merely called up their host families to let them know where the two foreigners were.

On the bedside table, three amulets pulsed comfortingly with magical aura, filling the heads of the next caballeros with sweet dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They would.
> 
> They absolutely would.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://strideriest.tumblr.com/post/184273009174/did-quick-doodles-of-the-versions-of-them-from
> 
>  
> 
> YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS
> 
> ITS FANART
> 
> FOR A LIL SUMMIN SUMMIN I STARTED WRITING FOR MY OWN ENJOYMENT
> 
>  
> 
> IM SO PROUD THAT PEOPLE ARE INSPIRED TO ART FOR THIS

 

 

"Where am I?" Moaned José, swiping at the light invading his eyes.

"In my bed," Donald said, opening the curtains further. José groaned, and rolled over. Before anyone could stop him, he was falling back asleep. "José, no. Get up."

"Nooo," he whined. Donald sighed, and pushed him off of the bed. He squawked indignantly, and scrambled to his feet. "Where's Panchito? When did we fall asleep?" He took a moment to gaze about the room. "And why aren't we in pyjamas?"

"Well, you guys didn't bring any, and we all sorta... Crashed? It's cool though. Panchito's on the phone to his family. Wanna go bother him?" Donald joked. José nodded, and followed him out of the room. "Duckworth told your host families where you are, but he wasn't pleased that you stayed over unannounced. Here's your amulet, by the way."

José noticed how Donald was already wearing his. He frowned and touched his neck, carefully putting his own under his shirt. It hung there, a comforting weight against his fluffy feathers. The two began to traverse the massive house, searching for the third of them missing.

"I'll apologise," José promised. He fell quiet as he found Panchito, leaning against a wall, phone against his head and chattering excitedly.

Though too far away to hear his words, the two saw how excitable he was as he spoke, Spanish flowing like a rapid section of river. Apparently a new speaker was on the line, as he began shouting out greetings and Spanish nicknames. Spotting his friends at the end of the hallway, he waved them over, still speed talking.

"-Mis amigos, José y Donald, son los mejores! Son mis mejores amigos, y Donald me mostró alrededor de la escuela. José es de Brasil, y va a carnaval todos los años, ¡nos mostró algunas fotos!" He babbled, stopping to listen for the other person to respond. "espera, de verdad quieres hablar con ellos? Okay, José, Donald, mi mama wants to speak with you. I'm going to speakerphone."

"Now Panchito you really don't have to- Óla, Mrs Gonzales!" José scrambled, fighting the urge to panic. What should he say? He wasn't ready to meet Panchito's mama! "I am José Carioca, friend of Panchito. Donald is here with us."

Donald, unlike José, definitely panicked. He tore a scrap of paper from a nearby newspaper (his uncle should not leave them lying around.) and scribbled something down. Holding it up, José was the first to react. It said 'MY VOICE???' and was underlined twice. He slapped his forehead with his hand, and motioned for Panchito to say something. The silence was stretching awkwardly.

"Ah, Mama, he's got a bit of a dolor de garganta. He's waving though," Panchito said, thinking fast.

"Well, it is lovely to hear from my baby Chito's friends," came the husky voice of Panchito's mother. "The way Panchito goes on about you, you would not believe! He's quite-"

"-Thank you, Mama," Panchito said in an attempt to get her to stop. He was flushed beneath his feathers.

"Ay, why so shy? Anyway, I think you boys are really good friends, no?" She laughed, deep and powerful. "So I told my Panchi, I told him, you tell those friends of yours; if you want to come down with him for a few days for half term to stay at the ranch, you are more than welcome."

"Oh! Obrigado! That is a lovely idea," José exclaimed, smiling widely. "I would love to! Don't worry, madam, Donald is nodding very vigorously!"

In fact, Donald was not just nodding, but also pumping the air with his fists, and dragging Panchito into a hug. The rooster was also silently celebrating, barely restraining from giving a massive crow. Panchito picked the phone up again, and Spanish flew once more. There were several goodbyes, a loud scream from one of his cousins and then the line went silent.

The hall they were in erupted with noise.

"Boy oh boy, did she really mean it?" Donald asked, staring intently at Panchito with a grin.

"Well," Panchito started. He placed a hand on his chin, the other on his hip, and made a thinking face. "Considering the facts here, I'd say she ABSOLUTELY MEANT IT!" He then sounded off an extremely loud crow.

"My friends, we must remain calm," José said. He was barely containing his own excitement. "We still need permission from, well, most of our families."

"Donald can go," Scrooge piped up. The three gave little squeals as he popped up behind them silently. "If he's okay with missing out on an adventure with Della. We're going to find a secret Yeti village, and collect the secret of the Himalayas."

"I'll miss out, thanks," Donald grimaced. "Last time we met Yetis, I lost all feeling in my legs."

"Your loss," Scrooge shrugged, and walked off. Donald watched him go, and rolled his eyes. As if he'd pass up a chance to be in sunny Mexico instead of freezing his tail feathers off in the Himalayas.

"Well, now all we need is José to get permission!" Panchito said.

"Yeah, I can come," José said, holding up his phone. "Just texted mi mamae and she said yes. As long as I call every day."

"This is going to be so awesome!"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Della! Della! I'm going to Mexico over half term!" Donald shouted to his sister. She looked up from her morose moping on the swing set. Donald slowed, suddenly concerned. "Are you okay?"

"You aren't coming on an adventure," Della muttered. Donald cocked his head and frowned. His concern drained away slightly. Yeah; but he never really enjoyed adventures as much as she did. He'd only gone on one with Panchito and José because he thought they would enjoy it. "It's because of those two, isn't it?"

"What's wrong with that?" Donald snapped defensively. Della looked up sharply, placating face in place.

"Nothing! It's just, we never hang out as much," she pouted. "It's like we never talk at all now, and all you seem interested in is them."

"Della, if that's how you feel, then why don't you just come talk to me?" Donald asked, confused. "I'm literally in my bedroom most of the time."

"That's the problem!" She snapped. "You're always in your room. You never play games any more, never hang out with me and when you do it's always 'Panchito did this' or 'José said that', and I just want things to be about us!"

"Della," Donald growled. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying I wish you would talk about them less, you see them everyday!" She shot at him. Donald felt his temper rise.

"Oh yeah?!" He shouted. "How do you think I felt before they came?! When we hung out, it was always you talking about your friends, and what you'd done, and it was only ever about you! Now I've found someone I want to talk about, two someones in fact, it seems like you're finding out how I've been feeling."

"Well, I wish you'd never met them!" Della screamed. She gasped, and covered her beak with her hands. She's definitely gone too far. Donald was looking at her strangely, almost like he would start crying. "Donald- I didn't, I don't mean that! I'm glad that you've made friends, it's just-!"

"I'm going to bed," Donald ground out. He stared at the floor. "Night, Della." Then he turned on his heel, and marched toward the mansion. He ignored her calling behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE ALL OF YOU. Those who read, those who kudos, those who comment, and now, those who draw art.
> 
> https://strideriest.tumblr.com/post/184273009174/did-quick-doodles-of-the-versions-of-them-from
> 
> Just in case you missed it up there, you know. REBLOG IT AND LIKE IT AND GIVE THE ARTIST LOVEEEE


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOU GET LOVE AND YOU GET LOVE, ALL OF YOU GET MY LOVE FOR READING!!!

 

 

The end of October brought with it the chill of Autumn. The first term was drawing to a close, and Autumn break was just around the corner. Unlike other students, three boys weren't talking about pranks and Halloween. Instead, they had warmer destinations planned out for them. Donald had been dithering on what to take, and was unsure whether to go warm clothes or cool clothes.

"Well, it's definitely warmer in Mexico than it is here," shivered Panchito. "Feel that wind!"

"It is rather boisterous," José agreed. "But I've got a great idea for a little prank. We need your mama in on it, Panchito."

Interest piqued, the two leaned in, and the whispering session was punctuated with chuckles and gasps. Soon the topic strayed, and they started talking about siblings.

"I have a lot of cousins," Panchito said. "Too many to count! No brothers or sisters though. Mama had me too old, apparently."

"Well, I've got my three older brothers, Louiz, Tulio and Warwick. Then I've got my two little sisters, Adri and Levie. They're adopted," José explained. "On the other hand, I don't know many cousins. Mamae isn't very close with her side of the family. Speaking of being not very close, Donald, still not talking to Della?"

Donald sighed heavily, and rested his hands on his elbows. Glancing out of the window, he sighed again.

"She apologised, but we still aren't fully over it," he admitted. "I love her, but what she said really hurt."

"What did she say?" 'I wish you would talk about them less.'

"It can't be that bad, Donald." 'I wish you'd never met them!'

"Maybe not for you guys," He replied. "But we've reconciled. So it's all good. Now, back to José's idea; when should we go shopping for the stuff?"

-/-/-\\-\\-

They decided on that very afternoon.

"I wouldn't have expected Duckworth to have just let me go shopping with you guys, but huh, he sure was docile about it," Donald said as they walked towards the mall closest to the school. "Considering the short notice."

"We probably could have left this for the weekend," José agreed. "But no time like the present. Now, where do we go?"

Inside the massive shopping centre, with music blasting over the speakers, the amount of stores seemed overwhelming. Panchito looked like he was having trouble reading the flashing signs of one of the shops. The place was bustling with adults, children and other teenagers.

"How much money do we have?" Panchito asked, and the three stood to the side and pooled in all the cash they had on them. "Only forty dollars?"

"We are not going to afford anything," José griped. Donald coughed, and beckoned them with a 'follow me' motion. They followed him as he wove his way through the crowd, until they came to a store tucked into a corner.

"Hey Macklemore," he grinned, "wanna go thrift shopping?"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Okay, this looks cute," José gushed, pulling his fifth shirt off of the racks. Behind him, Panchito was carrying several items as well, and Donald was holding the shoes. "But what would it go with?"

"Uh, Zé, I think we've got enough," Donald said. The parrot turned around, and smiled sheepishly. "Let's try these things first, then we can look for other things, okay?"

"Of course, my friend," he said. "To the changing rooms."

Once at the back of the store, he grabbed all the clothing and drew the velvet curtain closed. Well, the red fabric looked like velvet, but none of them were too sure. It took a few moments, but eventually José stepped out.

"No." He said. The flowery shirt was minuscule on him, and the white skirt was baggy. "I look like a Christian figuring herself out."

"Okay, so you definitely aren't size sixteen or eight," Donald said through repressed laughter. "Chuck out everything in those sizes."

Several items were put on the rail, leaving only four other outfits. José struggled out of the first, and sighed in relief. The next outfit had him pursing his beak.

He pulled back the curtain, looking disgruntled. The pink shirt was a bit loose, and the blue trousers were a smidge tight. Donald winced and Panchito shook his head. He agreed, and redrew the curtain.

The next was swiftly discouraged. The puffy sleeves and pink lace was a dead giveaway.

"Please," Panchito sniffed. "You are not a six year old going to a tea party. Donald, did you choose that?"

"It looked nicer on the hanger," he defended. "But yeah, that's definitely not the right one."

It soon joined the other clothes on the rail. It was followed by a sequinned black dress, that wasn't even tried on. José poked his head out.

"I'm trying to look like a nice young girl, not a burlesque dancer," he hissed.

-/-/-\\-\\-

It took forever, but eventually, they found the perfect outfit. As José drew back the curtain, his friends suddenly seemed a lot more interested. Panchito was staring at him in awe, perked up from his earlier slump. Donald was definitely approving, nodding, and snapping his fingers.

"So boys, this is the one?" He asked, striking a pose. The red tank top was covered by a leather jacket, and paired with some black shorts with rhinestone patterns they'd found after digging through multiple racks of clothing. He had little black shoes on, that had just enough of a heel to make him a scant bit taller. They'd even found a relatively decent blonde wig, long enough to reach below his shoulders. He'd flipped it to one side, and was standing on a bevel. It was almost over the top.

"I'm going to say this once," Donald said. "I am about to fall to my knees in shock and awe. No offence, José, but you look hot as hell as a woman. Not that you don't as a guy."

"I'm with Donald," Panchito said. "Damn. Give us a twirl."

José stepped out and twirled. His tail feathers flicked up a little, and he showed off his hips with a cheeky wiggle that sent them into hysterics. As they laughed, he stepped back to get changed so they could pay, and once he was out, they went to the register. The lady behind it looked dead inside, by still rang them up.

"That'll be twenty nine dollars, forty five cents," she said in monotone. The boys happily paid, and left the store. They decided to stop for milkshakes before they each headed home.

"Amigos, can life get better than this?" Panchito said happily. Donald privately thought it never could. "I can't believe it's barely a week until we go to my ranch!"

"What will your mama say about your tail feathers?" Donald asked worriedly. Panchito froze, and looked behind him. There was a new feather growing in, but it was taking a long time and was hurting him. He bit his beak.

"Do not worry my friend, we will think of something," José said calmly. Panchito grinned.

"Don't we always," he replied. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!" They repeated the sentiment back, and it felt like his amulet pulsed alongside his heart underneath his shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just... Cannot thank you guys enough for reading this, and loving it so much. It makes dismal days suddenly feel like summer.
> 
>  
> 
> SO I LOVE YOU ALL, EVEN THOSE READING THIS IN THE FUTURE WHEN ITS FINISHED, A YEAR OR A FEW FROM NOW. I LOVE YOU ALL.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me waking up from the coma of end of term: wha-
> 
> My mother: HOWS YOUR STORY DOING SWEETIE
> 
> Me: what story
> 
> Mother: Your online friends story thing! You said you got pictures for it!
> 
> Me: what day is it
> 
> Mum: Wednesday 
> 
> Me: fucc

 

 

  
It was going to rain that day, if the storm clouds had anything to say about it. A few drops were already splattering on the ground.

"Remember to wear sunscreen," Della fussed at the train station. "And don't forget your manners." She straightened his jacket, and whatever arguments they'd had washed away.

Donald moaned in embarrassment. He could feel Panchito and José giggling behind him, and slumped further. As the train pulled in, his sister hugged him one last time and kissed his cheek. She handed him his suitcase.

"Enjoy the Himalayas!" He called as he got on the train. "Don't forget your manners!" She barked a short laugh, and the boys quickly found a compartment to themselves. Donald cracked open the window, and waved Della over. It started to move. "I love ya, Della!"

"Love you too, Bonnie Donnie," she shouted, chasing his window as the train picked up speed. "Get me a souvenir!"

"Right back at you!" And then she was gone, a speck of colour on an ever fading train platform. He sunk back into the carriage, and closed the window with a happy sigh. "So. Now what?"

Panchito laughed.

"We wait for five hours," he grinned. "I brought cards." The colour drained from Donald's face.

-/-/-\\-\\-

One wouldn't think riding a train could be tiring, but after three hours, Donald was ready to crash. They'd played black jack, solitaire, poker, go fish, and snap. Once they'd run out of card games, they'd passed the time by listening to Panchito playing his guitar, and playing I Spy.

Donald felt his eyes slip closed, and he was out like a light. José poked Panchito and pointed over at him, and the rooster smiled fondly. Balling up his jacket, he used it as a pillow for Donald's head. As he slept, the rain started to get heavier and heavier. There was a distant rumble growing, starting slowly but getting louder, until it broke above them. Panchito and José counted until the lightning, but none came.

"Just a boring thunderstorm," Panchito stage whispered. "You get them, mostly without rain, a lot in Mexico."

"Really?" José said, surprised. "There's often rain in Rio, with lightning and thunder and other magnificent storms."

Another heavy rumble broke the sky, and a small whine accompanied it afterwards. José felt his magic prick at the sound of it, and under Panchito's shirt, he could see the faint red glow of his amulet. Panchito pointed to his, and he noted the fact it was glowing as well. Gently lifting Donald's jacket proved that his was glowing the brightest. As more thunder came, Donald's whines grew slightly louder, and a frown appeared on his face.

Panchito was the first to try to rectify the issue. He propped Donald on his chest, and wrapped his arms loosely around his friend. José looked outside of the compartment. Nobody was around. He began to weave something that shimmered like air on a hot day, and pushed it towards the doors. They gained a green shimmer for a moment, before going back to normal. The next time thunder rumbled, it was much quieter.

"Sound barrier," he explained. "It won't soundproof outside as much, but now no one can hear us at all. I'll draw the curtains."

As he did, Donald made a whimper in his sleep again. He was clearly having a nightmare. José frowned, and gently patted his arm. His amulet responded with a brighter glow. José looked down at his own, and it too was glowing brighter.

He sat on the other side of Donald, and pulled his legs onto his lap, so the duck was lying horizontally over his friends. He began to sort through his messy feathers, preening them. He stopped when Panchito held his wrist.

"What are you doing?" He whispered, scandalised face lit only by the trio of colours from the amulets. "You can't just preen people!"

"Why not?" He asked. "Me and my friends used to preen each other during lessons at school. It's not that big of a deal."

"I don't know much Duck culture," Panchito admitted. "But I know that they're really private with their preening. Chickens and roosters are in between relaxed and rigid. It's more for family and close friends."

The sky quaked, and so did Donald. The two stopped their discussion and went back to coddling their friend. Panchito soothed him by holding his hand. José stuck his tongue out at Panchito and went back to preening.

Thunder rumbled again, and they waited for him to twitch, or make a noise. Instead, he stayed limp. Panchito noticed how his breathing had suddenly sped up, only to forcefully slow down.

"Well, I guess we didn't have to wait too long after all." He grinned down at a very confused Donald, who was gazing up at him with glazed eyes. "Morning, sunshine."

"How long was I out?" He asked, reaching up a hand to rub at his eyes. He stared at Panchito's intertwined fist with his and simply brought up the other hand. "José, why are you touching my hips?"

"I was just preening," he said, laughing at Donald's horrified and bashful expression. "It's far more common with parrots apparently."

Donald groaned and pushed himself up, blush fading. As he did, he noticed how the amulets were dimming. Bringing his out, he turned it over. He was having a nightmare, right? And not to mention the storm outside. Did the amulets react to that? Turning to Panchito, he pushed him off of the seats. The rooster clucked in surprise, and Donald stared as the amulets glowed brighter for a moment.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Panchito. Just checking something," he muttered, helping him up. "Do the amulets light up when we're in distress?"

"Apparently," José said, opening the curtains again. He took down the sound barrier. "Why were you so distressed?"

Donald shrugged, and looked out of the window. As more thunder rolled in, he hunched his shoulders and shivered. Panchito fiddled with his hands, but couldn't hold it in any longer.

"It's not the first time I've seen you upset because of thunder!" He shouted, and Donald looked at him curiously. "At the first sleepover. It's killing me, what is hurting you Donald? Tell us about your nightmare, I've heard talking helps!"

"Oh," Donald said. "Well, I don't really remember it. I think it was the time we were flying through a storm? I say we as in my uncle, sister and me. We were flying in this rickety old thing, and then the thunder sounded really close, and I nearly fell out of the plane for a moment. My uncle caught me, but for a few moments I was falling. Della's also told me I get disruptive at night. I'm..."

"Afraid of thunder because of it?" Panchito half asked. Donald nodded, and flinched at another roll of thunder. Panchito wrapped his arm around his shoulders, and the warmth was appreciated.

"How old were you?" José asked, looking faintly horrified. Donald cocked his head to the side. Hadn't they literally fended off a bull chasing them literally three weeks ago?

"Like nine?" He said. "Doesn't matter, I've done worse things. All I'm saying is; snake meat." He shuddered, but grinned amiably.

"Donald," Panchito said, "that's messed up. Please, never do that again."

"I'll try not to?" He said, bewildered. Panchito nodded, and began to pull down a little sports bag.

"Good, because we're an hour out from the station and José still isn't ready." He said, pulling out clothes in a frenzy.

"I'll get the make up," Donald said.

"And I'll get changed," José sighed. "Close the curtains again, will you Panchito?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm term lagged so I literally wrote like five chapters over two weeks lmao


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SHES HERE

 

 

 

 

The rain and thunder stopped a half hour out from the station. The storm was gone as fast as it appeared, leaving cornflower blue skies to scorch them with sunlight. The weather brightened the mood of the compartment, and also gave far better light to do José's makeup. Donald stuck his tongue out as he carefully smudged on eyeshadow. José sat patiently, and Panchito kept watch over the proceedings.

"Done!" Donald said, leaning back. "Just hafta do your lipstick, and then we either go fake lashes or mascara."

José looked disgruntled at the sound of fake eyelashes, wrinkling his nose and screwing his eyes closed.

"I have beautiful lashes," he protested. Laying a hand on his heart, he continued. "Mi mamae told me I had the prettiest eyes in all of Rio, and I'd have every girl and guy after me."

'Well, I'm one of them,' Panchito thought to himself, before mentally slapping his cheeks. That was not the time! He'd been pressuring down the idea that he thought of Donald or José as more than friends, and these were the sorts of thoughts he was trying to clamp down on. He didn't even know if they liked boys! Just because Panchito was spelt with pan didn't mean everyone was!

Glancing over at his friends, he felt his face flush. Donald was holding José's beak in one hand and applying lipstick with the other, eyes half closed, and sunlight illuminated his feathers until they gained a luminescence. José had his eyes closed, and looked so relaxed, it felt almost like he was walking in on something he shouldn't.

Little did he know, Donald was internally screaming at the revelation he might like his friends more than he let on. Donald was contemplating simply jumping out of the train, he felt so hot. Could José feel how his hand was trembling? He hoped not. Panchito could probably see how hard his tail was wagging, and he felt embarrassed. This was no way to behave in front of the people he liked the most. José looked so trusting under his hands. Stop staring! Blink! Dammit!

José was just wondering whether or not he was more inclined to boys than he originally thought. Sure, being fluid in his interest to anyone was obvious, it seemed like two very specific boys were currently the issue at hand. He never labelled himself as pan or bi, he just knew he loved all, and he didn't care what that was called.

Then Donald stepped away, turned to the side, and have a sneeze. Moment ruined, Panchiti could do nothing but laugh. As his friend gave him a look, he wheezed out an excuse.

"You are so loud, for one so small!" And then José was looking at him, appalled that Donald could be called, in any form, short.

"I am RIGHT HERE!" He howled. That just sent Panchito and Donald into stronger laughter. Soon enough, his own grin grew into full blown giggles, and he joined them. Soon enough, the train began to slow down as the station came in view. Hurriedly, they all packed up, and José wobbled to his feet. Once they'd come to a full stop, he threw on the wig and grabbed his suitcase. He nearly stumbled getting off the train, but just about didn't.

In the distance, a hen with blonde and curly hair started waving them over. In her hand was a massive burrito, and she somehow consumed it in two bites. Running over, she scooped Panchito into a hug and swung him about. She was very tall, bordering on six foot two, and both Donald and José felt very small.

"Panchito!" She shouted. "Man am I glad to see you! I just ate like two burritos, a taco, pop rocks, green Mountain Dew and a whole three snickers."

"Ay! That's not as much as last time," Panchito laughed, hopping to the ground. "I must introduce you to my amigos! Cousin Deandra, this is Donald Duck, and this-"

Oh no.

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

They'd never discussed a female name for José, and Deandra was looking at them expectantly.

"My name is Josélina," cut in José, acting smooth. His sound was pitched higher, still sounding low for a girl, but enough to be mistaken for a husky voice."I'm from Brazil." Deandra gave him a close inspection, seemingly suspicious, before shrugging her shoulders and shaking her hand.

"Meh. I'm surprised Panchito made friends with a girl," she said, and turned to Donald expectantly. He stared right back at her in confusion, before picking up what she was putting down.

"I'm American," Donald said. Deandra looked at him oddly for a moment, before shrugging.

"No worse accent than Saison," she whispered, and turned around. "The truck is this way. You wanna sit in the bed, or in the front?"

"Isn't that illegal?" Donald asked. As the walked through the car park, Deandra shrugged, and clicked her keys. A red truck bleeped, and she pulled down the back. Panchito threw their bags up, and got ready to get in.

"Maybe? No one cares," she said, getting in the drivers seat. "Just hurry up."

Donald stopped dithering and threw up his suitcase. José was last to place his luggage up, and then looked at the tall vehicle. Turning to Donald, he gave him a look. After a long suffering sigh, Donald got Panchito, and they worked together to help José up. Once situated, Panchito banged on the top of the truck, and they began moving out of the car park, through a small city and onto a long, dusty highway.

"So, amigos!" Shouted Panchito over the wind. "You'll want one of these!" He handed them two sombreros from under a tarpaulin already on the truck, and helped tie them on tightly. "We usually keep spares in the truck."

Donald held onto his and leaned over the side a little. The road seemed to stretch on forever, and whatever Deandra was playing on the radio had a beat that had his tail swaying. José pulled him back down, and with the sun at their backs, they all settled down for a calm ride through Mexico's beautiful desert.

All the while, three hearts started to beat as one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you thought I was referencing Josélina, you are wrong. I meant DEANDRA, MY LAD, MY QUEEN.
> 
> Shut up its my fic if I want characters to reference other things I will have them.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just got back from a concert lmao I'm so tired but here my lovelies!
> 
>  
> 
> Ft. I found out some false friends in Spanish and Portuguese!!!!

 

 

The fence had sprung up quite a while ago, and Panchito had pricked up. Once they passed a certain rock, Panchito startled his friends with a screech of excitement. After a few moments, they turned into a gate and started up a long and sandy drive.

"Welcome to the ranch!" He shouted, tail wagging and causing his feathers to sway behind him. "We'll reach the top in a few minutes! Okay, José-lina," he tacked on hurriedly. "Keep the act up. We reveal you at dinner. Donald?"

"Yeah?" The duck asked expectantly, leaning forward eagerly.

"I need you to not say anything about fighting a bull, getting chased by unicorns, or mentioning our adventure," he dead panned. "I will never leave my house again."

"Understood." Donald gave a perfect navy salute, and ruined it as the truck lurched to a stop.

"Great! Now cover your ears, it's going to get loud," he warned, before inhaling deeply. Heeding his warning, Donald and José plugged their ears, and hid their heads between their legs. It didn't really help in blocking out the extremely loud scream from their friend, or the answering ones from all over the house.

Panchito stopped screaming, and as the rest trailed off, he vaulted out of the truck. The other two removed their fingers and stared at the proceedings. Panchito was swinging around the littlest cousins, who were first to get there. The youngest looked to be eleven, and was still taller than José, who sighed.

As Panchito greeted his family, he began to stop speaking Spanish or English, and just devolved to screaming and shouting incoherently. Once he'd greeted his cousins, he turned around to face the owner of a loud whistle. His mother opened her arms, and he ran into them. She felt like comfort and home, and he was... Crying? He was crying, but it was okay, because though he'd missed her so much, he was home now! And he had his best amigos ever with him!

"What happened to your tail?!" She asked, stroking her own in empathy. "Did someone pull it out? Oh, you should really not be having troubles, are you alright?"

"It's nothing," he said, salt water still falling from his eyes.

"Well, now you are home, and that is all that matters. Now, where are your-?" She was cut off as he remembered his amigos.

"Mama!" He shouted, scrubbing away his tears. "You have to meet Donald and Josélina!" She smiled at him, secretive and soft, and let him drag her to where his friends were. Donald was half off the truck, legs hanging down as he wiggled his top half off of the bed. Panchito grabbed him around the waist and dropped him to the ground. Donald sighed in relief, and wriggled his body from top to bottom to get his blood flowing and feathers from their sat upon squashed-ness.

"Hello, Mrs Gonzales!" He greeted, and stuck out his hand to shake. Instead, he was enveloped in a hug that squeezed the air from his lungs. He hugged back, and sank into her soft feathers. "Oh. Well, nice to meet you too."

Though he felt like he could have stayed in the hug forever, a commotion from the truck disrupted them.

"Josélina, let me help you down!" Shouted Panchito. José was on the edge of the truck, looking for a way to hop down without hurting himself. He evaded capture once more, dancing back and squawking angrily as Panchito tried to grab his legs. "It's obvious you can't get down!"

"I can!" He huffed, stamping a heeled foot. "Just let me..."

"Josélina, I think you should listen to Panchito," called Donald from his comfortable hug. Panchito's mother turned around, and gave José a look. He simply refused to accept Panchito's help.

"That's it! Cousin Julio!" Called Panchito in frustration. A very tall rooster strode towards them, and stood beside them. "Can you help me get Josélina down?"

"You are making me embarrassada!" José hissed, tossing a smallish bag at Panchito, who just caught it and frowned in confusion. "Stop it!"

"PANCHITO!" Screeched his Cousin Julio. "What does she mean Embarazada? Young miss, I am so ashamed of my brother, I apologise deeply!" He began to reel off words in Spanish, and very carefully grabbed José around the thighs to place him as gently on the ground as possible.

"Wait, what does that mean in Spanish?" Donald said to Panchito, who was looking suddenly very scared. "Cause I don't think it means the same in Portuguese."

"It means pregnant," Panchito moaned, dropping his head in his hands. Donald raised an eyebrow, and let José get his fair hug from Mrs Gonzales. He looked fine with being squashed by her.

"Embarazada?!" Shrieked an older looking hen. Panchito turned slowly, and stared at her in fear. She advanced.

"Abuela!" He said. "It's not what you think it is!"

She started to remove her sandal, and Panchito began running. José looked on in confusion, before turning to Cousin Julio and grabbing his wrists. The rooster looked confused, but let himself be tugged down to the lower level.

"I. Am. Brazilian." He stated. "Embarrassada means embarrassed in English. Got it?"

"Oh! Sorry miss, I didn't mean to imply-" he started, then as José gave him a hurt look, he apologised more. "I'm so sorry! I don't think you look pregnant!"

"I should hope not," José said, turning to Donald. "And you said my diet was working! People think I'm pregnant!"

"That's more from language than it is your body, dear," Donald said. He watched as Panchito's Abuela nailed him in the head with her sandal. "Ooh, headshot!"

"Mama!" Screeched Mrs Gonzales. "He is desconcertado! Not Embarazada! Desconcertado!"

In the distance, Panchito's Abeula hauled her grandson to his feet, and brushed the sand off of his jacket. Panchito whimpered, and ran and disappeared behind his friends. His Abuela gave him a distasteful look, and strutted towards them.

"Holá, Donald y Josélina!" She said happily, hugging them both. "Skinny! I feed you up."

"Não, I'm not that skinny, you thought I was pregnant," José tried to protest, but somehow she'd summoned bread from somewhere and shoved it in his hands. "Obrigado?"

Donald received his, and watched as the old hen waddled off inside. Panchito grabbed them both by the arms and dragged them to where the little gathering had amassed to watch their arrival.

"Cousins, Tios and Tias, Papa, these are my best friends in the world! Donald F Duck, and Josélina Carioca!" He shrieked. The younger cousins immediately began asking questions, in both Spanish and English. "Ah ah ah! Let them get situated first, questions later!"

And they were swept inside the house. Panchito practically carried them to his room, and slammed the door.

"Sorry, they're a bit overwhelming," he muttered sheepishly. Donald smiled at him.

"I think they're cool!" He said. "But you know what else is cool?"

"What?" Asked José.

"Getting out of this flannel and t-shirt and into something cooler. It's really hot."

He opened his suitcase, and stopped with a frown. Dragging out a sailor shirt and bow, along with a matching hat and scarf, he groaned loudly. Why couldn't Della or Uncle Scrooge let go of the idea that he should wear such a childish thing? Scornfully throwing it back in, he scratched around for something breezier.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Once Donald had changed into a blue tank top, he waddled outside, where José and Panchito had gone to play football with the cousins. It seemed cooler now that the midday sun wasn't in the sky, and he enjoyed the lack of oppressive heat.

"Join our team!" Called a group of younger cousins. They were looking at the other team reproachfully, and one girl was sticking her tongue out. "They said old against young, and it isn't fair!"

"Sure," he replied, ignoring how José and Panchito gasped in faux distress. "I've always wanted to kick their butts in something. If it can't be looks or smarts, it's gonna be so-... football."

"As if!" Panchito crowed.

"It's on!" José agreed, and then tacked on, "Not to mention, you are definitely the looks in our trio!"

"I wish!" Donald shouted, then got into position. An older cousin whistled from the side, Cousin Deandra, and the game was on. It was a flurry of feathers and feet, and a soaring ball. Donald saw his chance as it was kicked high into the air and time slowed. He jumped, and twisted, ankle connecting with the ball and launching it into the opposite goal. He continued to twist as he fell, turning it into a backflip.

"Goal!" Shrieked the cousin next to him. He found some arms around his waist and shoulders, as a cacophony of joy rose around them. The older cousins looked impressed, and José and Panchito were also cheering him on. Could it get any better?

-/-/-\\-\\-

Apparently it could. That evening, a massive meal was laid out. Donald and José found themselves either side of Panchito. Donald had Cousin Deandra next to him, and José had Cousin Julio.

"Before we eat, may I say something?" Asked José, looking very serious. Mrs Gonzales nodded, and he stood up. "I have a confession to make."

"As do we," Said Panchito and Donald, hands on their hearts. José whipped his wig off dramatically, and stood with his hand on his hip.

"I am no woman!" He said, flinging a hand to his forehead, and swooning. Donald clasped his hands, as if praying, and nodded slowly.

"You just got pranked!" Shrieked Panchito. Several of the younger children started laughing, whilst the older ones looked flabbergasted at how they could have been fooled by three sixteen year olds. Not only that, but the one who was suddenly a man still looked quite ladylike. José had a grin on his face that looked very smug.

"I knew I'd make a great girl," he said, inspecting the feathers on his hand with an air of indifference. "What do you think, Julio?"

Cousin Julio was opening and closing his beak, but not making any noise. Mrs Gonzales chuckled.

"I know you said you'd be disguising one of you," she giggled, "but it's been a long time since I've seen a look that good!" The table erupted again.

"You were in on it?!"

"So she isn't a she, and she's definitely not pregnant?"

"I feel like I'm truly an idiot. I am a doctor and I didn't notice." Cousin Julio moaned, slamming his head on the table. José patted his arm, and held out his hand to shake.

"Let's start again," he grinned. "My name is José Carioca." Julio shook his hand, and the evening progressed.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Donald was laughing at something José said, eating his third helping of dinner. Panchito's Abuela was not kidding when she said she'd feed them up. He was completely relaxed. So when he felt someone touch his upper back, he did the only reasonable thing.

He spun and grabbed their wrist, panicking. The child he'd grabbed looked slightly scared, and he quickly let go. Holding up placating hands, he swiftly apologised.

"Sorry, I was just frightened," he said, wringing his wrists. "I want expecting that. I didn't grab you too hard, did I?"

"Verónica!" Admonished Mrs Gonzales. "You need to stop touching people without permission. Say sorry!"

"Lo siento," she mumbled. Donald felt a spark of realisation, and smiled in what he hoped was an open manner.

"You were curious about my duck fluff, huh?" He asked. She looked at him in shock. "Ask me later. You're not the first to be curious."

"You mean like how José kept patting it when you first let us sleep over?" Cackled Panchito. The parrot next to him squawked angrily and slapped his thigh, and all Panchito did was laugh louder.

"Oh hardy ha ha," Donald shot back, twisting back around. "You were no different, Panchito."

Above the house stars twinkled and the night wore on, to much continued enjoyment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thirsty for juice and comments.
> 
> Y'all could help me with one of those things.
> 
>  
> 
> ;))))))


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, writing this: hmm  
> Me, posting this: HMMMM
> 
> There are no trains from America to Mexico, but who cares? I don't. José clearly didn't when he conjured one to Baia.

 

 

Donald always woke up first, it seemed.

Panchito's bed had been too small to share, so the three had spread about his room. Donald got the sofa, José got the bed and Panchito got the floor. Stepping carefully over the sleeping teen, Donald carefully opened his suitcase. He pulled on a denim tank top, buttoning it up as quietly as possible. The sun had not yet risen - stars were still twinkling as the horizon warmed.

Donald crept down the stairs and paused at every creak. When he had gotten to the kitchen, he peered about. The sink was full of dishes from last night, and he glanced towards the upper part of the house.

-/-/-\\-\\-

An hour later, when several roosters crowed, Donald noted that the sun was definitely rising now. The sky was growing ever more blue as people began to run about, loudly getting ready and hollering all the while. Soon enough, Panchito was jumping down the stairs, and barrelling into the kitchen.

"Good Morning, Donald!" He shouted, already full of life. "José is still asleep, but I see you are raring to go!"

"Hah, yeah," he agreed, flipping the page of the Spanish magazine in his hands. "He'll want coffee. I'll make it, just give me a moment."

"Did you do the dishes?" Asked Panchito, looking curiously at the now empty and spotless sink. Donald shrugged, and folded the edge of his page. Standing up, he flipped the switch of the kettle, and grabbed coffee from the labelled jar. "Are you reading Spanish magazines?"

"Well, I picked up a bit from you, but I was mostly admiring the pictures," Donald admitted. He turned to Panchito. "Where are your mugs?"

"Left shelf, up top. I'll grab it, you're short by rooster standards." Panchito tossed him a mug, and flopped down at the table. Donald kept an eye out as the kettle whistled, and finished fixing up the coffee and sugar in the mug. Pouring it in, he remembered that José took his coffee 'black as his magic'. It didn't make sense, as his magic was actually very colourful.

A sudden noise behind him caused him to jump, and spill hot water on the floor and his hand and feet. Refraining strongly from cursing, he turned around slowly. Verónica stood behind him, looking scared.

"Donald!" Panchito shouted, standing up.

"Don't step here until I wipe this up," he wheezed. "Panchito, make sure no one steps in that. It's hot."

He walked to the sink, and stuck his hand under cold water. Once it stopped hurting, he took it out. No burns, just raw flesh. Good. Sighing, he grabbed paper towel from the rack next to the sink and dropped it over the spill. Ignoring how it was still hot, he made quick work of the mess.

"Okay, Verónica?" He called out. "Did you need something?" Looking behind him, he saw that she was already gone, and Panchito was the only one there.

"She ran," he explained. "I'll take that up to José." Donald nodded, and handed him the mug.

"Tell him it's made with love," Donald simpered in an attempt to ward away the lingering concern in Panchito's eyes. It worked.

"Of course, how could you make it without love?" He responded, simpering in equal measure. Laughing, Donald watched him climb the stairs carefully. Sitting back at the table, he gingerly opened the magazine. He wasn't too hurt by the hot water, as it never really boiled, but his skin would be raw for a while.

Mrs Gonzales was next to enter the kitchen. She walked over to the sink, and glanced in it. She stopped, and looked again. She turned to face Donald. Then turned back to the sink.

"Niño, did you...?" She asked, bewildered.

He gave her a wink, and continued to look at pictures of cacti. She gave him a strange look, as if she couldn't fathom why he would do such a thing. The only sound was the drip of the tap, and the flip of his pages.

"I was up early," he said, after a long while. "And I wanted a way to say thank you for last night, so I did the dishes. I'm up for doing other jobs as well."

Suddenly he was being squashed by her arms again.

"Oh Donald, you are too cute, you don't need to do anything!" She cooed, cutting off his circulation.

"Bu' I wanna," he gasped out. She let go and stood back, chuckling at his sudden intake of breath.

"You can always help Panchito with his chores. That boy, where is he? He should be down here, getting ready for breakfast!" She scolded to herself, before sighing. "Never mind. Help yourself, Donald."

The duck saluted, and began preparing breakfast.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Não..." Moaned a voice from the staircase. Donald didn't bother to look up as Panchito carried José in over his shoulder. He was dressed in sensible overalls and a red shirt. "Muito cedo."

"The coffee did nothing," Panchito explained.

"Did ya tell him it was made with love?" Asked Donald, half serious. Panchito nodded earnestly, and put José in a chair at the table. "Well, I made breakfast."

Three plates of toast with chocolate spread were on the table, and José perked up fractionally. Once a piece was poked into his beak, he sat up and began chewing, eyes half closed.

"Well, I've got chores today, so feel free to do whatever you want on the ranch," Panchito offered, swallowing his breakfast with phenomenal speed. "Thanks for the food."

"No problem," Donald said, eating his at a moderate pace. "José, what do you wanna do?"

"Well, now I am awake," he grumbled, "I honestly have no clue."

The ensuing silence was spent thinking of things to do.

"Legally we could get married," Donald suggested. At the other two's sudden looks of intrigue, he shrugged. "We're all sixteen. We just need parents' permission, and we can be married."

"Sure," Panchito shrugged. "It'll be funny."

José looked at them both, raising his eyebrows up past his boater. Donald looked right back at him blankly, and Panchito winked. Sighing, the Brazilian took their plates to the sink and began to rinse them.

"I'm up for it. But!" He said, swishing around to face them. "I expect to be the pampered one."

Mrs Gonzales wandered in. She looked at the three boys staring at her expectantly. She knew it was best to keep quiet, and to walk out, but before she could leave someone spoke up.

"Can we get married?" Asked Panchito. She sighed and rubbed at her eyes in exasperation.

"No!" She shouted. "Why would you want to get married?"

"I dunno," Panchito shrugged. "It's legal?"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Okay marriage is off the table. You wanna go run around under the sprinklers?" Asked Panchito.

"Yeah?" Donald replied, as if it was obvious.

"Do I look like a fool?" Snorted José.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the marriage thing. Well. 
> 
> My friend and I went to a wedding fair to check out a venue for the prom we're doing, and whilst there someone asked our group who was getting married. My aunt said it was her. My mum laughed and said next time to say that it was my friend and I getting married, which prompted the 'it's legal to get married at 16 with a parents permission'. I thought it was funny, so i put it in!!!
> 
>  
> 
> Comment and validate me blease


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SCREW LOGIC
> 
>  
> 
> also I posted this after a long time of me going: 'I should update. I'm gonna do it. After this tho-'

 

 

Panchito swept the yard with surprising tenacity. Opposite him, Donald copied his movements, competitively brushing away the dust. José sat on the ground a little ways off, watching them languidly. Soon enough, he noticed someone sit on his left, and turned to see Verónica watch Donald expectantly.

"Tenacious little thing, aren't you?" He smirked. She glanced his way, looked around, and pointed at herself. He nodded, and she shrank away. With a sigh he stood up. He couldn't take this anymore. "Donald, switch out with me! There's a girl with a burning question over here!"

"This isn't over, Pistoles," Donald warned. The rooster laughed amiably, and José took his broom. He sat next to Verónica and waved the other two in a dismissive manor.

"Sorry for burning you," Verónica whispered.

"Uh, thanks? You didn't burn me, I burned myself."

"Yes, but I scared you." She frowned, shuffling on the ground. Donald waved her off, and she feel quiet again. She looked around, fidgeting, twisting her fingers and touching her skirt nervously. "Why do you still have chick fluff?"

Donald blinked a few times.

"Well, uh, it's because of this disease I have," he explained slowly. How best to put it? "You see, when I was an egg, my mother... Left the window open. She left it open all night. She didn't mean too, of course, but it really affected me. When I came out, I had fewer feathers than my sister. The doctors thought it would be fine, but it turns out I also inherited the weak feathers my great grandfather had. So the combination led to my feathers growing in late, and the doctors think my fluff will stay until I'm fully grown."

Verónica nodded slowly, and cocked her head to the side. Donald rolled his eyes good naturedly, and twisted around. Reverently, she placed her hand lightly on his upper back. He could feel her fingers ghost over the spots where his white hadn't come through yet. Verónica was a gentle as possible, and seemed enthralled by just how soft he was.

"Oh, dios mio!" Shouted Panchito. "Why does she get to have all the contact?" He looked affronted, as if he'd been deeply offended. José removed his hat, and placed a hand on his arm.

"Maybe we are," he sniffed, "not worthy of Donald's personal space?" Verónica giggled under her breath, and stood up. Patting one last decisive time, she turned tail and scampered away, soon inside the house.

"You guys, you just have to ask."

Two pairs of eyes turned on him hopefully, and he sighed. Turning his back to them, he gestured for them to come over. He didn't expect to immediately have four hands on him, stroking and patting his fluff. José trailed down his back, playing childishly with the yellow fuzz. Panchito was more restrained, settling for petting it.

"Okay, you've had your fun. There are chores to be done," Donald giggled, swatting them away. "Hey, that rhymed!"

"What else to expect of our lyricist?" Panchito squealed, jumping away. "I have to do two more things, and then we are free."

-/-/-\\-\\-

Outside the stable, Donald basked in the sweet warmth of Mexico. Beside him, José was leaning on his umbrella, gazing out at the massive expanses of the ranch. They were in what his uncle would call 'companionable silence'. A breeze blew by, bringing with it a cool touch. The silence was only hindered by a crackling radio on the stable window, which was playing some children's radio station. The voice fizzled out, and the staticky machine began to play an upbeat dance track.

José tapped the floor with his umbrella to the beat, hips swaying slowly. As the chorus hit, he began to move in a way that wasn't quite dancing, but something close to it. Donald felt his tail begin to twitch and soon his foot was tapping. Seeing this, José grabbed his hands, and began to spin with him. Going far away enough that they wouldn't hit the stable wall, they began to dance in a way that wasn't necessarily beautiful, or even any good, but they felt inexplicably happy anyway.

The song swelled, and Panchito ran out to join them. He'd evidently just finished feeding the horses, as hay still clung to his jacket, but he was outside with them. In a burst of inspiration, José put his umbrella to his beak and began to play it like a flute, adding strains to the melody and the beat. Rhythm flowed like sand in an hourglass, steady. Soon enough they stopped dancing and just began weaving around each other. As the song finished, it finally became a game of tag.

"You'd best not try that again!" Panchito called as José reached out with his umbrella. "That is cheating!"

"Yeah!" Donald shouted, ducking away as José tried to tag him as well.

"Fine, but all I say is: tag!" Donald laughed as Panchito looked at the hand on his arm in shock. José spun away, and began to run in earnest when he heard Panchito coming after him. "Donald!"

"The porch is the safe zone!" Screeched the duck, seeing Panchito change direction and come towards him. He turned around and sprinted to the porch of the house, cowering against the door. Suddenly, he was looking at Panchito's beak. Having gathered up too much momentum, the rooster hadn't been able to stop fast enough. In a bid to not crush his friend, he'd slammed his hands on the door either side of Donald's head, and jolted to stationary.

"Ah, sorry Donald!" He said. "I'll get off you now." But he didn't move. They stayed there, breathing heavily from the run, and from sudden emotions. A cough startled them, and they turned to face Cousin Deandra, who was looking at them from her seat.

"I don't know how you didn't notice me watching you all and laughing at your games," she stated. "But if you guys are gonna kiss, Panchito has a room with a door for a reason."

Donald and Panchito flew back. Under their shirts, they could feel their amulets hum. Whilst Panchito had feathers to block his blush effectively, Donald was turning pink very, very quickly. José panted as he climbed the stairs.

"I came from the opposite direction," he said as smoothly as he could. "Cousin Deandra, a pleasure to see you!"

"Sup."

"Wait," Donald said. "If you're Spanish, why do you have an American accent?"

"Well, I'm a cousin. My part of the family lives in America." She shrugged. Throwing popcorn in her mouth, she turned to gaze away at the sky. "Again, Panchito get a room for your boyfriends and your icky gooey business."

José squawked, Donald quacked and Panchito clucked at her, denying her statement vehemently. They were smiling all the while, and Cousin Deandra immediately knew that they were probably going to end up together. After all, she'd made a bet that they'd kiss by the end of the week, and fifty bucks was not something to scoff at.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment
> 
> Kudos
> 
> Idk what else u can do lmao but I appreciate everything you guys do. Even if you don't comment, I see u. I love u.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahem hem
> 
>  
> 
> Plot starts picking up now.
> 
>  
> 
> Not to mention I'm just casually putting in references to a hell of a lot of fandoms. If you get what's going on in this chapter, kudos to u.

 

 

That night, the three of them awoke. It was all simultaneous, each snapping open their eyes and gasping deeply as they shot up. Even José was wide awake. Clutching at their amulets, the three looked to each other, and tried to calm their hearts and breathing.

"What was that?" Trembled José. Donald shrugged, looking around nervously. The night was quiet and the house was silent. A glance at the clock told him it was one thirty six in the morning.  
  
"It felt... Bad," Panchito whimpered. Shrugging off his blanket, Donald slipped to the floor beside him, and lay close. José soon joined them. They knew, deep in their hearts, there was something deeply wrong. They didn't know what.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"A Sheldgoose?" Murmured a dark voice. "Perfect. What is your name, my descendant?"

A shivering boy of twenty two years of age shrunk back, the ring on his finger glowing a faint purple. He'd found it outside that crazy old Coote's house, and immediately recognised his family crest. He edged slowly forward, grabbing the cool metal staff with hot and shaking hands.

"I am Baron von Sheldgoose," his pompous voice barely a whisper. "I recently inherited this mansion from my late father."

The staff chuckled.

"Well, I can offer much more than a measly mansion. How does the universe sound?"

Baron von Sheldgoose smiled a wicked smile. His mother's lessons to not be greedy flew out of the window, and he gripped the staff tighter.

-/-/-\\-\\-

None of the trio slept very well after that. When the call came to wake up through the house, they were already downstairs and on their second cup of coffee each. Cousin Julio looked at them and went pale.

"You three look awful," he said. "Rough night?"

"You could say that." Panchito swallowed his mug in one gulp, and placed it in the sink.

"Rough does not begin to cover it," Donald moaned, rubbing his eyes. "I vote we get chores done and go back to sleep."

José nodded in response, shivering even though he wasn't all that cold. Cousin Julio frowned at his behaviour, and took out thermometers from the cupboard. Before any of them could complain, he'd checked their temperatures and was grabbing a pack of pills out of the cupboard.

"Classic exhaustion. On the Doctor's orders, you three are to not do any work today," they all sighed in relief.  
"If, you tell me why you all are so tired."

"We all woke up at the same time," Donald started. "I was having a nightmare maybe?"

"Hah, that's funny, same here," José groaned.

"Same here."

"So no staying up late, no playing games and chatting, you all went to sleep after dinner?" Asked Julio, looking confused. Three affirmations reached him, and he frowned. "Well then. To the living room with the lot of you."

They ambled and fell onto the longest sofa. Panchito switched channels until they came upon a telenovela marathon. 'The Passions of the Reckless' wasn't the most obvious choice, but it seemed like they'd not be too bored.

Three hours later, they were all moaning at the characters. As the woman leaned in to kiss the handsome man on the cliff, sun setting behind them, sudden Spanish guitar interrupted them. There stood... Antonio?!

"My love, Lovina," he called. The three leaned forward. "Surely you will not choose Gilbert over me?"

"You are too late, Antonio!" Called Lovina. "Me and Gilbert are meant to be!"

"We shall let our guns decide," Antonio said. Gilbert nodded, and drew his pistol from his belt. Standing back to back, they each walked ten paces, music building they turned and the screen went black, a gunshot echoing. Soon after, the adverts began to play.

"Oh COME ON!" Said José in exasperation. "Not to mention, she was about to kiss his chin!"

"What?"

"She was too low to reach his beak," José explained.

The theme began to play after a few minutes, and they shot back to staring intently.

On the floor was Gilbert's body, and blood was seeping out from under his shirt. Lovina was looking on in admiration. She ran into Antonio's arms, and began to passionately make out with him.

"Wait, so he kills her boyfriend, and that's apparently a good thing?" Donald said.

"Well, that kissing is absolutely awful," Panchito remarked.

"Oh agreed, that is not how you kiss someone," José said, wrinkling his beak in disgust. He shouted at the tv; "Less tongue, more beak!"

Donald snorted at their antics as the credits rolled. Stretching his back, he leaned into the cushions.

"I've never kissed anyone, so I have no clue," he admitted, earning confused looks from his companions. "What? Nobody wanted to date me except for this girl called Daisy, but we broke up when she moved south. She wasn't the nicest person to date anyway."

"Quick, we need to go to my room," said Panchito, dragging them by their wrists. Once up the stairs and in his room, he closed the door and placed a chair against it. "Donald, real talk, what do you mean you've never been kissed?!"

"I mean I've never been kissed?"

"Não," José chuckled. "What Panchito means is: you are quite good looking, so it is a surprise that you have not had ladies or men falling at your feet."

Donald flushed bright red, and sat oh Panchito's bed. Covering his face with his hands, he took a deep breath.

"If it isn't weird to ask, may I suggest something?" Panchito said softly. He sank down next to Donald, and José took his over side up. Donald nodded, wondering if it could get any weirder than it already had. "I could show you a proper kiss."

Donald short circuited.

"Well, I know I'm a better kisser than you," José said airily. Panchito turned to him with a look of surprise. Recognition flickered across his face, and suddenly things made sense to him.

_'He is rather cute, isn't he?'_

Donald was hiding in his hunch shoulders between them, and José winked at him slowly.

_'Not to say you aren't, Panchi.'_

"U-uh, how about you both," Donald gulped, snapping him from his inner thoughts. Donald looked at the floor, turning ever redder as he said; "kiss me."

"It's just a friendly lesson in kissing between friends," José said calmly. Donald nodded slightly, and closed his eyes. Panchito took a deep breath.

"Can I kiss you, Donald?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, holding the next chapter with my mouse hovering over the delete button; comment or the chapter gets it
> 
> Also me; I can't miss an upload or I'll physically die, see you guys in a few days, love you!!! OWO what's gonna happen?????????? ;)))))))


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOW WNTERING; I have not done a "kiss" before, so idk how they feel. I tried??????

 

 

"Yes."

Donald gripped the bedsheets, looking at the floor with careful concentration. José sat on the sofa. He'd go second. A hand on his arm caused him to stiffen, but he quickly relaxed as Panchito turned his head towards him. Now looking into his green eyes, Donald wondered why he'd never gazed at them before. They were flecked with gold.

Panchito took his cheeks in his hands, and angled Donald so he was looking up slightly. He closed his eyes, and leaned in. His beak came towards Donald's and before he could panic or back out, they were kissing.

And oh, is that what kissing was supposed to feel like?

His own eyes closed, and he shifted closer, grabbing Panchito's forearms. It was not a long kiss, but when they parted, it felt like a hundred years could have passed. Donald let his eyes open, and he felt like there was honey in his vision. He looked wonder struck. Panchito smiled, and stood up slowly.

"Wow." Donald whispered, reaching up to touch his beak.

"José, do better than that!" He crowed, pumping his fist. The parrot looked at him, unimpressed, and pointed to the sofa. Panchito flopped onto it, lying like an opulent ruler.

José gestured for Donald to stand, and he did, confused. Still weak at the knees from his earlier kiss, he nearly stumbled. José smiled at him and advanced, until his knees were pressing the bed again. He fell down, sitting once again, and José smirked.

"Why make me stand if I'm sitting down again?" Donald asked, confused.

"Quiet now, Donal'," José murmured. Leaning forward, he used one hand to tilt Donald until they were facing. Donald closed his eyes, and his breath hitched as José started to kiss him.

It started out like Panchito's, but soon it became clear that José was going somewhere different. He deepened the kiss, tracing Donald's sides and moving his beak just so. Donald could feel his face flush again, but José broke it off before it became more than a kiss.

"Speechless," José said, stepping back. Donald fell backwards into the bed, rolled into his side and tried to cover his blushing face. "Your turn Panchi!"

Despite his thoughts that maybe he shouldn't watch his friends kiss, let alone kiss them himself, he peeked out from between his fingers. José was definitely going at it, and Panchito was reciprocating the best he could. It made Donald feel something deep in his chest, a satisfaction that ached. They broke apart. He hastily looked away. He didn't want to be caught staring.

"Okay, that was pretty good," Panchito admitted. José snorted.

"Pretty good? I've kissed more people than you've got cousins!" He protested. "My kissing is fantastic."

Despite himself, Donald laughed.

Then stopped as a thought occurred to him. People only kissed like that when, well, they weren't just friends. Not at all.

"Does this mean we're... Dating?" He asked, and the other two looked at him. They stood and advanced. Sitting either side of him, he felt kind of stupid that he'd asked.

"Well, I won't lie," José began, taking his left hand. "I may have a crush on the both of you."

"It's strange, I thought you'd noticed how much I was flirting with you two." Panchito admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Well, I technically asked first, so my feelings are obvious, I think," Donald mumbled. "So... You guys want to be, uh, boy-boyfriends?"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"So what did you boys do today?" Asked Mrs Gonzales at dinner. The trio stiffened, and looked at each other.

"Watched some telenovelas," José said, smiling. Donald nodded in agreement. "Slept a bit. Nothing strenuous, as the Doctor ordered."

"Good," Julio said. "You'll be fine by tomorrow. Now can you pass the salt?"

They shared a quiet gasp of relief, and dinner continued as usual.

-/-/-\\-\\-

The next day, Verónica skipped towards the barn. A pink disposable camera bounced on her chest, and she stopped to get a picture of a bug. She was going to see if Donald would let her play with his fluff again, when a strange noise caught her attention from around the barn.

Peering around the side, her eyes widened as she caught sight of Cousin Panchito and José. That wasn't what surprised her. The fact that they were kissing definitely did. Pointing her camera, she snapped a picture. As their heads jerked up at the sound, Verónica made herself scarce. Were they dating?

-

Verónica decided that she would not say anything. She figured it was pretty private. That didn't stop her from searching for Donald.

It had been awhile, and Aunty had told her they were probably washing the truck. She dashed out. Coming into the garage, she noticed how Panchito was leaving to get more soap. Creeping around, she saw how José had his arms around Donald as he tried to scrub at a stubborn stain. The parrot laughed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Donald gasped and slapped him with a sponge. José kissed him again, but they jumped apart when there heard a clicking noise. Seeing nobody around, they shrugged, but did not go back to what they were doing.

Verónica felt confused. Was José cheating on her cousin with Donald? She felt angry. How could he? After all Panchi had done for them!

-

Finally. Verónica spotted Donald in the back yard, hidden by the big tree in the centre. Beside him was her cousin, who was... Kissing his hand? Verónica snapped a picture, and ran off before they could spot her. Were they all cheating on each other?

In her mind, she began to think of how this could have happened. In the end, she decided she didn't care. Tonight, during their last dinner at the ranch, she'd expose them as dirty adulterers. She clenched her fist, and gritted her beak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god Verónica noooo


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk man I wrote this but I don't remember writing it. Ha ha.

 

 

"Hey, Donald~!" Called out a cheery voice. Spinning around, he caught sight of José, who was holding up-

"Oh no, you put that back mister!" Shouted Donald, chasing him around the room. They were packing up, and he'd left his suitcase open for one minute. That was all it took, apparently. "Stop it! Panchito, help me!"

"What is this?" Crooned Panchito. "Oh, Donald, you didn't tell us you had such a cute outfit!" Donald scowled and snatched it back. Shoving it in his suitcase, he stuck his tongue out and went back to packing up. When he turned around to get his shirt on the bed - with José's clothes for some reason - he saw two pairs of puppy eyes. Rolling his own he turned away again.

Looking up from zipping his suitcase, he noticed that his boyfriends (he had two! He had boyfriends!) had crept closer, and were leaning towards him. He looked away, but his eyes glanced traitorously back at them. They were pouting. Masterful puppy eyes were being employed.

"Oh my lord; I'll try it on, sheesh!" He grumbled, unzipping his suitcase. Pulling out the offending garment, he gestured for them to turn. "Might as well make this a dramatic reveal."

There was the rustle of fabric, a disgruntled mumble, a few moments of silence - and then Panchito couldn't take it any more. He spun around. José was quick to follow, and like the dramatic bird he was, immediately fell to the floor and began rolling about and screeching. Panchito couldn't look Donald in the eye, and was leaning on his wall for support.

"Okay, laugh it up," Donald said grumpily. José stopped making such a racket and stood up, breathing a little heavily. He launched himself across the room and tackled Donald onto Panchito's bed. He began cooing platitudes in Brazilian, mixed with kissy noises. Donald fought back, laughing. "Stop it, I'm not a cat!"

"Mas você é fofo como um!" José said. "Adorável!"

"I'm on his side," Panchito shrugged. "You look quite, the word is, uh, sweet in that, mi sol." Donald swiped at him from the bed. Chuckling, Panchito sat next to the entrapped duck and leaned back onto his bed, causing it to creak and bounce. The other two grumbled as they lifted. They settled into comfortable silence.

"So, are you gonna tell your family?" José eventually asked. Panchito frowned, and stared at his ceiling. "I'm telling my mother when I go home over Christmas."

"Della already thought we were dating, a few weeks back," Donald moaned. "I told her we weren't. I'll tell her in a few days, but she will be insufferable about it."

"I... Don't know. Maybe. They were fine with me being Pan, but two? At the same time? They might not..." He trailed off, rolling onto his side and facing them. "Do you want me to tell them?"

"Not if you don't want to," Donald said seriously. His face lit up with a revelation. "We need to set rules about our relationship, boundaries."

"I agree."

"And I think one of them should be 'We are only as public as we all feel comfortable with'. Like, I'm happy to proclaim our love from the school roof, but if you guys rather we kept it down low, I respect that." Donald said, finally wresting out of José's grip on his waist.

Letting him go, José nodded in agreement. Before they could continue a knock came at the door, and they sprung apart. The doorknob turned, and Cousin Julio poked his head in.

"Hey, dinner's soon coming. Have any of you seen Verónica?" He asked. Three shakes of three heads later, he stepped out, closing the door.

"Well, I gotta get changed so that I can eat- no. Oh no." Two devious faces gave him identical looks. "I'm not wearing this to dinner!"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Oh Donald, I didn't know you were a sailor," remarked Mrs Gonzales. Donald lifted his arms and punched Panchito and José either side of him.

"I told them every time someone mentioned it, they'd be punched. They thought I looked nice," he explained, helping himself to some bread.

"We accepted his agreement," José smiled through a grimace.

"It was only fair."

Nodding, she went back to her own food. The dinner table was still missing Verónica, and she almost felt worried. The girl was headstrong, and no one had seen her since the afternoon. She'd asked around, and Julio had helped, but she hadn't seen her anywhere.

"I have an acc- accus- acusación!" Verónica yelled, giving up on English for the word. The room went quiet, though some of the adults were stifling laughter, and she stood on one of the chairs. She was holding the families laptop, and struggled to open it. "Cousin Panchito is a dirty cheater!"

"If this is about the time I slipped an ace into my palm whilst playing cards with you," Panchito began, apologetic. She cut him off.

"No! Also, we'll discuss that later. I'm talking about how you and José Carioca are dating!" A gasp went up from the table, and Panchito looked very white. José looked interested. Donald was cracking up. "And cheating on each other!" Another gasp. Donald laughed harder, wheezing. "With Donald!" He stopped laughing, glancing at her serious little face. And began howling.

"Como você pode?!" José cried out, leaning on Cousin Deandra. He held a hand to his forehead, and fought away giggles, fanning himself.

"Josélina!" Shouted Panchito, getting on one knee. "I would never do such a thing!" Composing himself, Donald wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and glared at José with mock anger.

"Hands off, he's mine now!" He shouted. "Donna Moo Moo, and don't forget the name!"

Then they were all laughing again. The whole table was. Verónica waited patiently. Clearly, they had no idea what was going on. Once they had settled, she opened the first image.

José was pushed against the barn, arms being held by Panchito's. They were smiling, close but not on top of each other. The sun was at an inopportune angle, casting light directly behind them. It didn't obscure the fact that the were obviously kissing in the photo. It was sweet, private.

Everyone went deadly silent. José sank lower and lower, and Panchito lowered his Sombrero over his face. Donald felt his chest grow tight as the table turned to look at them, and wished he had something to hide behind.

"There's two more!" Shouted Verónica. She swiped with the touchpad.

The next was José, hugging Donald. Innocent enough, but he was kissing the duck on the cheek, and Donald was definitely not fighting it. In fact, he was blushing.

You could hear a pin drop. Verónica swiped one more time, before the table could murder José. Not that their cousin seemed to mind that he had a side chick.

The tree gave dappled light, and the two beneath it could have been from an artsy tumblr blog. Panchito was kissing Donald's hand, and José was nowhere in sight. It was a tender moment, perfectly captured, whilst others had been blurry or rushed.

Three chairs scraped as three boys stood up.

"Where. Did. You. Get. Those." Hissed Panchito. He looked furious. He flared his tail, and his mother flinched at the reminder that it was missing a feather. Under his shirt, something began to glow red.

"Now now, Panchi, I'm sure there is good reason-" she tried to reason. Donald and José backed away. They also had glowing chests.

"No!" He slammed a fist on the table. "Those were private moments! Eu deveria mandar você para os touros por isso! Eu não posso acreditar que você faria algo tão intrusivo!"

"What? Upset at the truth?" She sounded too smug for an eleven year old. "You guys shouldn't have cheated on each other."

"We aren't cheating each other!" He shouted, tears filling his eyes. "I was gonna tell everyone when I was ready, but no. Well, no better time. I'm dating two people, and they have made me so happy, and now I'm going to leave! I'm going to my room, and no one is allowed in. Come on, Jo, Don."

The two began to scuttle after him, heads low. Verónica, not sensing the mood, threw a spoon at Donald's head. He flinched as it hit, and tinkled on the floor. He turned around, and whatever look he gave her must have said a thousand words, because she looked away. His tear filled eyes had told her something no amount of lectures could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fudge when moomins and undertale take over your life lmao


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter..... I hate it..... It did not want to be written....... So in spite, here it is.

 

 

It was a quiet ride to the train station. Panchito had cried a lot the night before, and as a result hadn't gotten much sleep. He'd packed a bag that morning and jumped in the truck with them, saying nothing. The other two just shifted to make space.

At the train station, the entire family was there to send them off. Panchito refused to hug Verónica, but hugged everyone else, his mother the longest. She whispered something in his ear.

Then they were on the train, leaving the station, in a compartment to themselves. Panchito sniffed. He tried to hide away in the space between his boyfriends.

"Mi mama says she is happy for me," he said. "She says if I am happy, she is happy."

"That's good, right?" Soothed Donald. Panchito nodded, and gave him a watered down smile. José tucked under his arm, and Donald let him rest his head on his shoulder.

Their trip could have ended better, but the times they had would not be tainted by one experience. Donald held Panch closer, and hummed.

-/-/-\\-\\-

After five long hours, they entered Duckberg again, and were in far better spirits after food and heart to hearts on Ryan Gooseling and why he wasn't as good as José seemed to think he was. Graciously Duckworth drove each boy home. Once at the manor, he offered Donald some tea.

After chugging the cup, Donald thanked him, and trudged up to his room. Della would be gone until Saturday. His only friends probably didn't want to hang out for a while, since they'd spent like five days together. Saturday to Wednesday was a long time.

He had nowhere to go, nothing to do and no one to speak with. On his bed, his phone buzzed, and he read the text from Panchito instantaneously. He really was desperate, wasn't he? He didn't care. Much.

The group chat they had created, originally called 'none of us are cool', now 'the three caballeros, apparently', was filled with memes and the joyous experience of a video of José eating a bell pepper slathered in hotsauce set to Fireball by Pitbull. The little green bubble indicating that someone had said something bobbed impatiently. Donald opened up the chat. It took him a while, but he finally absorbed the message.

'Wanna go on a date?'

José had responded with a kermit meme. Donald giggled, and sent an affirmative. José sent another heart meme, and Donald rolled his eyes. Truly, the Internet should not be in his grasp.

'When?' He wrote. 'And where?'

'there's an film I want to see' José apparently did not care about English or grammar when texting. Memes and unfulfilled dreams, as his sister would say. He would say 'stop'.

'K, film and dinner at a fancy restaurant?' Panchito asked. He'd clearly gotten really good at English. Though he couldn't write it down on paper that well still, Donald was pretty sure he had a translating app.

'Sounds great' Donald smiled.

'Sunday?'

'sunday sounds noice'

'I can make it!'

-/-/-\\-\\-

"I'm not sure this is a good idea," Sheldgoose mumbled, "going through people's private information."

"You are fine with conquering the universe, but privacy matters." If a staff could deadpan, Felldrake would. He scoffed, and continued to lean precariously on Sheldgoose's desk. The twenty two year old mumbled something, and sent back to searching up corresponding names and words.

"No, no, n- WAIT!" Screeched Sheldgoose. He'd come across a group chat called 'the three caballeros, apparently'. He knew buying that chat app was a good idea! Not only did it bring in copious amounts of money, it also gave hints to where his (so called) mortal enemies were!

"Who owns these accounts?" Growled Felldrake. Sheldgoose pulled up their profiles, and he recoiled. "Ew, teenagers. Teenagers that look like the three caballeros."

"They recently decided to go on a 'date' together, this Sunday, to the Duckberg Cinema and then some four star restaurant." Sheldgoose murmured. It seemed almost too cute to interrupt. Not.

"Ugh, I hope they aren't like their ancestors," hissed Felldrake. "Too close as friends. Always admiring each other."

"Were they dating too?" Sheldgoose asked, intrigued.

"No, you buffoon. They were just friends. But they were insufferable." Felldrake said. "Anyway, who has two boyfriends? That's two too many."

"What-"

"No one should ever fall in love!" The staff cackled, hissing intakes of breath punctuating his evil glee.

"Oh, thank god, I thought you were a homophobe," Sheldgoose breathed in relief.

"I'm evil, not stupid."

-/-/-\\-\\-

Days had passed, and Saturday dawned bright and sunny. Donald was waiting on the roof of the manor for the helicopter to land, and soaking up the sunshine. The faint whirring of chopper blades awoke him from his daydream, and he stumbled against the wind as it landed. The door opened, and he found his voice.

"Hey Della!" Donald said cheerily, watching her disembark from the helicopter. She ran up to him and swung him, shouting unintelligible words, bouncing him around. "You found it?"

"Yes lad. It was this little jewel here. Grants the wearer immunity to cold, hot, wet and dry." Uncle Scrooge looked tired. "The yetis were happy to get rid of it. Thought it was a tacky child's toy."

"Yeah, cool, whatever, but Donald!" Shrieked Della. "You sent a message about a date?!" Something in Scrooge's brain stopped working at that outcry.

"What."

"Yeah, and I need your help!" Donald replied, holding her shoulders. Scrooge watched them, somehow more confused, and still didn't have a clue was to why he's not been greeted by Donald properly.

"What?"

"There's not much time, hurry up!" Della dragged him inside, leaving Scrooge on the roof on the manor with a confused face. He shook his head and sighed, rubbing his old hands.

"Is anyone going to tell me who Donald managed to get a date with?" Uncle Scrooge asked. His pilot, getting out the helicopter, have him a bewildered look. Clearly, they were both in the dark. "Well, I guess it's a surprise. Unless..."

His face fell into a frown. "It's them, isn't it?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meme Lord José fuck you


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You think the dates gonna be on this chapter???????
> 
>  
> 
> SIKE BITCH THEY AINT DOING ANYTHING HA HAAAAA
> 
> yeah it got too long so i cut it off.

 

 

  
Della woke him up far too early. They all were going to meet at twelve, watch a film and then go to their reservation at two. Donald was woken up at eight.

"So, how is everyone dressing?" Della stressed, checking through his closet. She wrinkled her beak at some of his clothes. She outright made puking noises at one of his favourite band shirts.

"I dunno, like, smart?" Donald grumbled, ready to slip back into bed. "We're going to watch that new Darkwing film, and then go to Raningle, that nice restaurant."

Della threw something in his face, and then two shoes clunked beside him as well. She turned around as he got changed, and ignored his complaints. She turned around to look at her creation. Donald was in a black button up, and had squeezed into the black brogues he hardly ever wore. He had a blue tie, which made her frown. She tugged it off and unbuttoned his top button.

"What do you think?" She asked. He looked in the mirror and made a face. So that was a no then. "Okay. Well, do you know what José and Panchito are wearing?"

"I could ask," he grumbled, and she nodded. He sent a text, and a bare second later he had a reply. He giggled at it under his breath, reading it over. The second came a minute after it, and he nodded and looked thoughtful. "So José said he was wearing some black trousers, a black shirt and, uh, yellow jacket. Panchito said he'd wear denim jeans and his nice red jumper, with a button up underneath."

Della was already digging through his clothes again. She muttered something about colour schemes, and matching it with his stupid amulet. After a few moments she emerged, with a blue dress shirt and black cardigan. She chucked them at Donald, and turned again. Once he was dressed, she dragged him to her room, and practically threw him into her boudoir.

"No offence, Donnie, but you have very few nice clothes. We're going to have to make you a wow factor elsewhere." She said, setting out various instruments of torture. Donald cringed at some of the devices. Surely that clamp was medieval? "I'm going to do your hair last. How do you feel on make up?"

"Subtle, but I'm okay with it," he said cautiously. She smiled. He nearly regretted his statement.

"Okay, close your eyes, and swivel to face me."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Ow, you are burNING OW!" Donald howled, gripping the stool he was on tightly. Della rolled her eyes and pulled her straighteners out of his hair, smoothing it down. Dipping her hands in her little wax pot, she swept it up and back in a little swoosh. Stepping back, she wiped her hands on her shirt and considered her work.

"Okay, last of all, hands. We still have twenty minutes before Duckworth will get mad about being late. I'm thinking this blue shimmer or this plain black. Blue or black?" She asked. Donald pointed at the blue. "Hand!"

She slipped the gloves on, tweaking until his fingers were in place. The satin fabric shone in the light, and she smiled to herself. She spun so her brother could look in the mirror and see her handiwork. He looked awestruck.

"Dells," he gasped, lifting his hands to touch his eyes. She slapped them down. "I didn't think you'd make me look so...

"Natural in makeup?" She said smugly. "Thank me later. Go on that date, and make them sure that they will keep you."

"Thank you," he said. He stood, and hugged her tightly. "Thank you."

He couldn't believe the mirror wasn't a picture of someone else. Della had added faint blue to the tops of his eyelids subtly, and glitter highlighted his inner eye. She'd given him a thin wing sharp enough to stab a man. She'd not done much else, but it had taken her three long attempts to perfect. His hair was slicked back with a floof at the front, like the models in magazines had. His outfit brought out all the best parts, and he left his amulet on the outside. He'd left the shirt unbuttoned for the first two buttons and the dark midnight cardigan made all the blue seem less over the top.

"I'm the fashion forward one," she laughed. "Do you want me to wait with you? Duckworth will drop you off fifteen minutes early as usual, and I don't want you to feel lonely."

"Yeah. We could get a Starbucks," Donald suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. "Be really stereotypical. I can pretend to be your bi best friend."

"But you already are?" Della said, confused. "And my bi brother?"

"Not like that!" He hissed. "Like... Flamboyant. Really flamboyant."

"Oh, we're doing _romcom bi bestie_. Okay," Della said, getting into it. Donald linked their arms, threw his wallet into his pocket, and they walked down to the car.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"O-M-G, girl, you are so bad!" Donald squealed, as Della ordered a chocolate chip cookie with her mocha. She slapped his arm lightly, and he leaned on the counter, over exaggerating his fluttery lashes.

"Darling, can I have a whip cream frappe, two sugars and mint drizzle," he gushed, looking behind the counter. "Babes, you've inspired me. I'm having a slice of that Viccy Sponge!"

The server looked incredibly tired, but started making their orders. They snagged a table by the windows closest to the cinema. Donald smiled at his sister, who started giggling once they reached their table.

"Did you see the guy behind us," she choked. "He looked so confused. He probably thought you weren't being serious."

"Babes, babes, babes, I don't do 'serious'," Donald sniffed, inspecting his gloved fingers. "I do my boyfriends."

Someone on the table next to them choked on their hot chocolate.

"Anyway, I think that's our order about to be called," Della said. She was absolutely correct.

"Della and Donnie?" Called out the server. Donald sashayed over, winked, grabbed the cups and strutted back, leaving the poor staff member to gawk at his makeup.

"Drink up, sister!" Donald said, taking a bite of his cake. Della snorted, and began eating. Donald polished his snack and drink off in point two seconds, and threw a piece of gum into his mouth. He offered a strip to his sister.

"Why do you have gum?" Asked Della, taking it anyway. She frowned as she chewed it; bubblegum wasn't her favourite flavour.

"Uh, duh? I'm going on a date, what if Jo wants a kiss? Or Panchi? I'm not kissing with coffee breath hon," he said, glancing out of the window. He dropped the act and leaned in. "I'm going across, there's like five minutes until we're meant to meet up. Be good, kay?"

Della waved him off, and he gave her a kiss on the cheek. Patting his arm, she shoved Donald towards the door, and he grinned. He left the Starbucks feeling ready for anything, full of life.

Nothing could possibly go wrong!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Half of the 'bi bestie' conversation is from real life. It wasn't me saying those things. "Viccy sponge" would be my bi friend, which is like a guy friend but they're bi. Actually, most of those lines are his
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Don't worry about the cliffhanger, they're birds. They'll fly down just fine!
> 
> (Pun courtesy of my best friend, Amy. She demanded I use it.)


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go. Here he is. A trashy 22 year old goose. In costume.

 

  
Twenty minutes later, and he wasn't so sure. Neither of his boyfriends had turned up yet, and he was starting to feel frantic. Was it Sunday today? Had they decided they didn't like him? Had they gotten hurt? Oh god, what if they were bleeding out at that very moment, alone, on some dingy alley floor?

A pair of arms around his shoulders jerked him back to reality. Blinking steadily, he looked up to see Panchito.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," Panchito said with a grin, letting him go. "Lo siento, I'm late! I left the house thinking I'd get here fast, but I got a little lost. Where's José?"

"Not here yet," Donald said, suddenly feeling a little shy. He tried not to hide inside his cardigan.

"Ahhhhh!" A very loud scream told them of his arrival. He ran over, Portuguese streaming from his beak as he grabbed Donald by the cheeks and began admiring his face. He pointed between them, excited. "Donal' we match!"

And so they did. José had gone for a lighter yellow on his eyes, but still had green glitter. He grabbed Panchito around the waist and hugged him tightly, patting his back. Panchito laughed, picked him up under his arms and swung him around.

"Guys, I know we haven't seen each other in four days, but we need snacks before the film!" Donald said, trying to get them to go to the concession counter. They followed him, but only after he'd tugged both their sleeves.

Snacks paid for, they skipped merrily into the theatre, sitting in the middle row. Donald, Panchito, José. The trailers were finishing up, and the lights dimmed further. The film began.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Donald watched with boredom as a woman was torn apart by the reckless killer, screams turning to gargling chokes. Beside him, Panchito shivered, and José had long since hidden under his arm.

Donald threw his own arm over Panchito, and felt him shift so they were even closer as the killer turned to the screen and began limping forward. His boyfriend tried to climb into his lap, and José tried to follow. Sighing he accepted his fate, and continued to watch as blood rained on the screen.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Nice choice, José," Donald said cheerily as they left. José did not answer from his perch on Panchito's shoulders. He clutched at his tall boyfriend, looking behind him every so often.

"I wish I'd known beforehand what that was about properly," he whimpered. Panchito nodded in agreement. Donald rolled his eyes in good spirit, and took Panchito's hand.

"Come on, let's go to our reservation," he soothed, and they began walking to the entrance. Before they could make it, a figure in a long purple cloak stood before them, holding out a staff. Lightning crackled, and he began to laugh maniacally. Donald ignored it. "Excuse us, lovely cosplay, we are just gonna go around you now."

"You're going nowhere, Cabarellos," hissed the figure. The trio stiffened. Caballeros. Why did he call them Caballeros? "Not until you give me those amulets!"

"Uhhhhhh, no?" José said, Panchito helping him down. "I don't think we have to? Anyway, if you don't leave us alone, we're gonna call security."

They tried to hurry past, only to have a wave of purple engery knock them to the ground. People began screaming and running in fear, because this was no longer a simple man in costume but someone dangerous. Donald saw red, and jumped up.

"Hey! Listen up, loser, we are busy on a date! Can this not wait for later?!" He shouted.

"No!"

Donald turned red, and began to take off his cardigan. His anger was rising, and if he had to throw hands with some magical creep to get on with his date, he would.

"Mariquil," whispered José, watching a tendril of his magic flow into Donald. He suddenly looked a lot calmer, and sleepier. Dragging him to the ground, he grabbed Panchito's hand and Donald's. Looking up at the strange wizard angrily, he cast another spell. "Visididen."

They disappeared from Felldrake's view. Invisible, they began to make their way to the door, to slip out invisible and unnoticed. The strange figure growled, and teleported away with a flash of purple smoke. The trio ran until they reached a little alley, and stood there panting.

"Thanks José," Donald gasped.

"Just a bit of general spell work," he said modestly. "I can't use too much against him, he was pretty powerful. I'll charm our journey, so we can get to the restaurant safely. Hold hands again. Univert."

A shimmer settled over them. It held no colour, and at Panchito's confused look, he explained.

"I know I said black magic has colours, but spells with specific uses have no colours. Spell work is the easiest thing to do," he said. "I calmed Donald down with that one in there. It had no colour, which really helped us against that guy."

"What kind of black magic was he using?" Asked Panchito. José sighed, and rubbed his arms.

"I have dark magic, black magic, yes?" He started. "That wasn't magic. That was power. He wasn't using spells, or energies. He was using power. And Power is... Well, mostly associated with old warlocks, Wizards. The people who could easily take over planes of reality. Witches like me? We can't really do that."

"I think I get it," Donald said. He glanced fretfully behind him.

"Me too!" Panchito chirruped. He looked... Far less worried.

"Good," José smiled. "Now, let's not be late for our reservation."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Your food, sirs," said the smarmy waiter. He placed the dishes in front of each of them, and whisked himself away. Donald had ordered the Fish Dish, which was just multiple types of fish in little portions. José had ordered their spiciest soup, and was sniffing at it interestedly. Panchito had gotten the Spanish platter on the menue, and seemed happy with it.

"Shall we toast?" Asked Donald. The other two raised their glasses, and he grinned. "To boyfriends!"

"To the colours red, blue and green!"

"And to- oh that's great, he's here too. To uninterrupted meals," Panchito grumbled. They clinked glasses, and swallowed their contents quickly. The cloaked dude was there again. With a sigh, Donald stood up, and walked over to him. Sticking out his hand, he stared directly at the guys face. At the table, José and Panchito watched in amused fear.

"Donald, dear, what are you doing?" Hissed José, ready to jump in. He noticed security slowly creeping and realised what he was doing.

A distraction.

"Hi. I'm Donald Duck. Introduce yourself, you weird stalker," he said in a bland tone.

"I am Lord Felldrake!" Screamed the staff. Donald nodded, knowing the whole restaurant was looking at them.

"Cool, cool. Well, Lord Felldrake, can you do this another day? We are in the middle of a date right now," Donald explained. The staff sputtered.

"No! This is happening right now!" It yelled. Security began to come up behind him, and as Donald sighed in relief the guy was carried out yelling and causing a scene. Donald went back to his table, and stabbed some fish with his fork.

"Well, we have a name now. I'll ask my Uncle Scrooge," Donald said, stuffing his fork into his mouth. "How's your soup?"

"Kind of bland," José admitted. "I added some hot sauce, but it's still meh. Not very spicy. Panchito?"

"They know what is up," Panchito said, eyes wide. "It tastes of Mexico."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"I had fun today, despite the interruptions," Donald giggled as Duckworth drove up. "See you tomorrow in school?"

Panchito gave him a smile and kissed his cheek. José grabbed him and tugged him downwards, kissing him on the beak strongly. It sent all their hearts reeling, and amulets glowing. When they broke apart, Duckworth hooted the horn, and they jumped a foot.

"Bye!"

"See you, Donal'!"

"Ta ta!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought they were gonna fight????????? He's too incompetent, and they have someone to meet first ;)))))))))))


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT!!!!  
> Updates will now only be Saturdays. I have GCSE's for the next month or so, and when they're done, if this fic isn't over, I'll go back to Wednesday as well.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNING; Steve uses a slur, fa**** to be specific. This is the most you'll get from me. I don't like being crass (a lie I swear a LOT!) in my fics.

 

 

Monday dawned with wet skies. Autumn was drawing to its end, and winter would begin its cold burn soon. Donald stared as the sun rose, droplets falling across his window in a ballet of uselessness. He'd not slept. The stars had shifted as he'd stared, sun slowly inching closer.

"Bonnie Donnie! Hey, Don! You won't believe-! Oh." Della stopped outside of his room, staring at his back as it was silhouetted by the window. A laptop sat open on his desk, screen dark, but humming. She crept toward it and swiped the mouse to wake up the screen. Pages of writing, lyrics and thoughts and tumultuous feelings, written by her brother during the night. "Been busy, huh?"

"Couldn't sleep," he answered, not looking away. "I researched up this Felldrake guy, but nothing came up. I asked Uncle Scrooge. He said he didn't know. Do you remember Grandpa Coote?"

"Uh, yeah," Della said, glancing his way. "He died last year, right?"

"He left his cabana to me, and everything in it," Donald said. Della spun to stare at him. Donald had a strange expression on his face. "And he also left it to the other descendants of the Three Caballeros. We're going there this afternoon, all three of us, to collect on our inheritance and to see what we can do to get this Felldrake guy to leave."

"That's good, right?" Della asked, confused.

"Yeah," Donald smiled, weary. "It is."

-/-/-\\-\\-

José held his hand as they walked between lessons. Panchito leaned on him, using his shoulder to rest his arms on. And Donald wagged his tail all day as they did. It drew attention to them, but who cared, it's just those three, they're close. Some girls took this as a sign they weren't on the market anymore, and mourned the loss.

And Steve? Well.

"Seems we got a bunch of faggots in our school boys," he shouted down the hall. The trio paused in their conversation. The hallway froze, people looking excited, frightened and disgusted.

"You shouldn't use that word," trembled a younger girl. "It's, it's not nice!"

"Shut it," Steve hissed, stalking forward. "Listen up, gay boys, my dad wasn't to happy with what you did last time."

"You mean how you got beat by Donald in one go?" Panchito asked, cocking his head to the side. Several students laughed at that. Steve flushed red.

"No. Miss your feather, Gonzales?" He sneered, and Panchito flared his tail in anger. "Don't worry. It wasn't your tail we wanted." He gave José a predatory look, and the parrot squawked in indignation.

"Steve. Shut up. Go away. Unless you'd quite like a round two?" Donald asked dryly. "I need someone to punch, and your buddies over there don't seem quite as eager as you."

True to his word, most of the boys were hanging back. Donald held up a hand, and a few flinched. Steve growled at them, and whipped around, shoving José to the floor. He yelped.

"Oh, that's it," Donald grumbled. Under his shirt, something began to glow. Students began whispering and forming a circle. Donald wasn't sure who started it, but soon they were chanting.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The crowd bayed, and Panchito rolled his eyes.

"The Lord of the Flies sounds about the right title for the situation," he said, and some of the students became sheepish. Others started shouting louder.

Steve threw the first punch, and the shiny black camera above them recorded it all.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Why, in all names of God, did you not fight back?" Hissed Della as they sat in the office. Donald smirked and pointed upwards, at the new security cameras on the ceiling. Realisation dawned as he was called in with Panchito and José. Della shook her head and leaned on her hands, wondering how she was cursed with such a stupidly brilliant twin.

"Well boys, we reviewed the tapes," the head teacher mumbled, nodding at Steve's parents, who were looking horrified that their baby could do such a thing. "We have come to the conclusion that Steve should be... Permanently excluded."

"Now, wait," the father began, "this was one fight!"

"I don't know," Panchito began, glancing at his tail. "I have a missing feather to prove otherwise." In truth, it had grown back in by a third, but it still looked pitiful.

The father shut up instantly. José looked over to where Steve sat, stewing in his hot water.

"I can say he deserves it, if not for the fights, then the slurs," he hissed. "Kiss my ass, cadela."

"José!" Murmured Donald, looking scandalised. "Use English. He's too ignorant to get Portugese."

"Wait, he's not Spanish?" Said Steve, looking genuinely confused.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Therefore, Steve left our school, and we got away with a detention for letting José cuss at him," Donald relayed to Duckworth. The butler looked vaguely disgruntled at their behaviour.

"Foul language is never the answer," he said primly. "A nice baseball bat with some nails, a can of gasoline and chainsaw did the deal in my day."

"Your butler is metal," whispered Panchito. Donald snorted, and nodded. They trundled to a stop by the New Quackmore Institute. There was a little bamboo structure standing in the centre, the cabana left to the three of them.

Opening the door, Donald waited for his friends to get out before waving at Duckworth as he drove down the street. Once he was out of sight, they walked up the path and shakily, Donald unlocked the front door. It fell inward, and they stared at it, lying on the floor.

"Whoops?" Donald offered, shocked. José tried to stifle his laughter. His laughter turns to a shout of fear as he was tackled over by something small and red.

"Arucuan Bird," Panchito said, breathless. At his friends looks, he hastily explained. "My Cousin Throckmorton loves researching birds. His favourite was this little fellow, on account of his song."

The Arucuan screamed, and burst into a little ditty, running about and fixing the door. He broke the laws of physics, and reality, at least twice before he was finished, and the door was rebuilt. He screamed again, and it fell inwards.

"Let's just go in," Donald sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HA HA HA HA
> 
> ITS THE BEST CHARACTER
> 
>  
> 
> ARIIIIIIIII
> 
>  
> 
> Also he's the storm i guess idk where I was going lmao.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank everyone for understanding the schedule change. So... THANK YOU!!!! :D
> 
>  
> 
> Also ha ha yeah this is.... Something.

 

 

The cabana was actually quite clean for a place no one had been in for a while. There was little dust on the shelves, and light streamed through clean windows. It illuminated various shiny objects, treasures and trinkets, and José was the first to pick something up.

"Your great grand father was... A collector," he grimaced, holding out a skull. Donald felt his eyes widen, and Panchito made a strange noise. "I don't think it's real, but it's still weird."

"Yeah, true that," Panchito gulped. "I'm gonna check out those bookshelves. Something has to be there."

"I'll take that corner, piled with the... Stuff," Donald said, and picked his way over. He began to sift through the mess, wincing at the strangeness of some of the objects. It was all clean. He touched upon a lot of things that were clearly worth a lot, and set those to the side. It made sense that he should set up his own college fund, or at least have some security in buying a house. Jo and Panch could use their money for whatever.

José kept looking over the desk. He avoided the skull, and used the key the Arucuan had given him. Opening the drawers he began to search for anything. Mostly old sweet wrappers and unpaid bills came up. He frowned in frustration, scratching for false bottoms and reading documents. Nothing!

Panchito poured over the bookshelves. There were massive stacks of books at the end, and he did not want to touch them. Behind him, the Arucuan screamed, and he jumped back, knocking over the piles. They crashed down around him, and he winced. Underneath them was a grubby glass case, and inside it was a golden book. Lifting the glass, he carefully took it out, and blew the dust off of the cover.

"I think I found something!" He called, and two pairs of feet came pattering towards him. Once they had amassed, he showed it to them. "I think it might be important, it was under a glass case!"

"Well, it's locked, so we need-" the little Arucuan gave his signature screech and pulled out a jackhammer. After a few seconds of deafening noise and impossible movements, the lock fell to the floor. "Oh. Thanks...?"

A pen and paper appeared in his grasp, and the bird wrote something down. Ripping it out, he gave a trill of his song, and disappeared.

"Ari," José read out. "So he has a name." There was another shout from elsewhere, as if to say 'duh'. Panchito shrugged, and set the book down on the table. Grabbing the front cover, he pulled it open, and Donald peered over his shoulder to translate. They didn't get very far, as from the book suddenly appeared a ball of light.

Jumping back, the three watched in shock as the light became a strange figure, with tanned skin and black hair. She -definitely a she - fell to the floor, getting into a fighting stance immediately. She drew a bow and arrow from the air, made of light, and aimed them at the trio, who all immediately ducked behind furniture.

"Who are you!?" She shouted, looking very fierce for someone out of a Disney film. "I'm not in the mood... For..." A strange look came over her as she looked at their faces. She shivered. Suddenly, she dropped her weapons and swept them all up into a strong hug, babbling apologies.

"Uh, Miss?" Donald began, choking on his last breaths.

"We have no idea," wheezed Panchito .

"Who you are!" Finished José, and she dropped them unceremoniously to the floor. Throwing her head back, she laughed heartily and clutched at her stomach. She wiped away a tear, and looked at their faces. They were serious. Her face fell.

"You aren't the Three Caballeros, are you?" She said. Suddenly she seemed defeated. "You're their descendants."

"Got it in one," Donald said, not without sympathy. She did not crumple, but her shoulders fell a bit, and her eyes watered, before she bit back her emotions. She pulled herself together quickly, and brushed away her half formed tears.

"Well, I am XANDRA, GODDESS OF ADVENTURE!" She proclaimed, striking a pose. An invisible wind blew about her skirt and hair, and the trio watched with impressed looks. She grinned, before a thought occurred to her, and her face fell to a frown. "How long have I been in that book? I knew there was a chance I'd be trapped there for a while."

"What's the last year you can remember?" José asked, sweeping his tail feathers up in intrigue. She gained a thoughtful look.

"I believe it was... Sixteen Fifty Four," she hummed thoughtfully. "When America had been discovered, and the armour was far better than in the eleven hundreds."

"Oooh," Panchito hissed, flinching. "Yeah, it's like Two Thousand and Fifteen."

Her eyes became comically large, and she seemed to go into shock. Xandra began making babbling noises, and counting on her fingers. Grabbing Donald, she shook his shoulders hard and fast.

"Tell me! What is new?" She shouted. Donald slipped from her grasp, and panicked.

"Chocolate is solid?" He said, in more of a question. "Well, uh, first up, chocolate?"

"What is that?" Xandra asked, serious.

"I have some in my bag," José said weakly.

"It's delicious," declared Panchito. "Can I have some?"

"Sure, Panchi, sure."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Well, one thing is pretty good, and that's chocolate," Xandra said, morose.

"Cheer up, Xandra! There's other good things!" José tried, patting her shoulder awkwardly. She gave him a deadpan look.

"The people I knew are dead. The things I know are outdated. The Three Caballeros - the new ones, you guys - I don't even know!" She cried out in frustration.

"Oh! Well, I'm Donald," he offered, nervously rubbing his head. She nodded.

"I am José," said José, giving her a short bow and a wink.

"And I am Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero Gonzales the Third!" Panchito crowed. At the looks he received, he shrugged. "What? It's fun to say."

"All that aside, Xandra, do you know of someone called Felldrake?" Donald asked, turning back to her. "He's been giving us some... Trouble."

"Felldrake is alive?!" She exclaimed. "Tell. Me. Everything."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Then he left, shouting about revenge, and we went back to our da- friendly outing," Donald finished, wincing at his bad cover up. Xandra seemingly hadn't noticed, and paced about, deep in thought. "Um, it's getting kind of late, and we need to go home soon. Are you gonna be all right here?"

"I'll be fine, but u have to see you here tomorrow at dawn. Tell your families that you're out for a few months on a pilgrimage, or something," Xandra ordered, flipping through her book. Panchito winced and José whistled.

"We have school," Panchito admitted. "We can't leave. We can come after school, especially if I tell my host parents it's a club." Xandra stiffened, and stared at them as if they were mad.

"School?" She laughed. "I'll teach you everything you need to know, no school required!"

"Well, thanks for the offer, but you'll have to make do with afternoons," Donald insisted. Firmly, he crossed his arms. "We are not quitting school. Also, you might want to read up and research the modern world. A lot of what you know is outdated."

Before she could protest, a beep of a horn sounded out front. Donald walked out first, leaving Xandra to gawk at the car. Panchito shrugged and followed him. José on the other hand paused, and gave her some kind advice.

"You may have seen a lot of changes, Xandra, but you've missed out on nearly four hundred years of them. We have time to catch Felldrake. Use it wisely."

And he was gone. Xandra sputtered, indignant. She turned to Ari and gesticulated wildly, as if to show how ungrateful and unruly they were. In response he screamed, and disappeared into the bookshelves, leaving her alone, in a cabana she did not know. She picked up a book titled 'The 19th Century: A Comprehensive Guide'. Might as well start seeing what had happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Xandra: a queen.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha ha I hate racist ha ha ha I want to punch this character.
> 
> TW there is racial discrimination.
> 
>  
> 
> In lighter news, thanks for the support in the new update schedule. Exams are kicking my butt, and your support makes it worth it.

~~~~

 

The numbers on his bedside clock told him it was two am. José Carioca blinked back tears and struggled to calm his breathing. His amulet was pulsating wildly, and he put a hand over it to stop the light from flashing too much.

Running a hand down his beak he swung his legs over the side of his bed. He's not had such a bad night in years! Well, not such a bad night unrelated to magic. Magic often caused his sleep to be less restful than most people's. His mamae had told him that young black magic users like him should be getting more than twelve hours of sleep, to recharge their magic, but his lifestyle got in the way of it. However, his magic often jerked him awake.

Gulping down the water in the glass beside his bed, he contemplated texting or calling the other two caballeros. He decided against it. No need to worry them over a little bit of a bad dream!

It seems they didn't feel that way. His phone buzzed twice, and opening the group chat, he saw two worried messages.

( _Insane Boyfriend) AMIGOS HO IS HURT OR SADD I AM HERER TO LOVE_

_(Angry Boyfriend) José, Panchito, know that whatever is up I'm here for you. I know one of you is distressed, and I'm here to comfort._

_(Insane Boyfriend) so is not you?_

_(Angry Boyfriend) and it isn't you, sooo_

_(Me) i just had a bad dream. chill_

José smiled at his screen. It was being filled with memes from Panchito and cute messages from Donald. They knew him well. Distract and Divulge, a two part plan they had made for comforting him. Donald had the plan Calm and Comfort, and Panchito was Play and Puns.

They finished their little conversation at three, and José smiled as he closed the app. Shuffling under the covers once more, he took five deep breaths, and slipped back to sleep.

-/-/-\\-\\-

José knew his feathers were ruffled. He's not taken the time to actually preen that morning, or brush his hair. The morning was simply too much of a late wake up for anything else. He careened around the corner, sliding into his classroom two minutes before the bell. Dramatically, he fell into his chair, fanning himself and dropping his bags beside him.

"My friends, you would not beLIEVE, I have been BETRAYED!" He cried, closing his eyes and leaning back. Donald didn't look up from his book. Panchito glanced his way, and went back to making a paper boat. "Tch, fine, it's not like I was stabbed in the back or anything."

"Oh no," Panchito hummed. "Who would do such a thing."

"A tragedy, really," Donald agreed, flipping his page. José gasped with fake hurt. "I'll bite. Who betrayed you, and how."

"My host parents have this five year old, a gremlin of a child," José started, getting into the perfect gossip position. Leaning on his hand, he continued. "His name is Devin, and he likes computers. Usually that's fine. But he decided to DISMANTLE my ALARM CLOCK for a SCIENCE PROJECT. He did not ask. He did not warn me. I thought he was a nice young man, but I see that beneath his sweet smile and cutsey attitude he is a little-"

"Mr Carioca, it's time for you to be quiet," snapped the teacher. The bell rang a minute ago. Save your theatrics for break."

"Oh, my apologies," he said, looking bashful. She snorted, and began reading out the notices. The trio listened in boredom. New hall? Whatever. Music moved to the science block? Okay. Boys changing rooms closed due to broken showers? Props to the guy who broke them.

"What do we have first?" Whispered Panchito, leaning towards them conspiratorially. José shrugged, and Donald thought a moment.

"Uhhhhhh, we have biology," he murmured, glancing at the teacher in precaution. She had finished speaking, and was sitting at her computer. Other students were talking and laughing, so he supposed that it didn't really matter. "Did you do the homework?"

José pulled a clean sheet with neat penmanship from his bag, and placed it with a flourish on his friend's desk. Donald skimmed over it, checking spellings and looking out for Portuguese. Seeing none he smiled. José grinned and took it back, neatly putting it back. Before Panchito could show Donald his own work for review, the bell rang.

They hurried to biology, falling into their seats simultaneously. This was one of the two classes that they were split up. Panchito sat on the other side of the room, by the window, whilst José and Donald sat at the back by the skeleton posters.

"Welcome, class," droned Mr Boulder. "Please come to the front with your homework. Today we will be doing a pop quiz." The room groaned. They all went up and placed their sheets on his desk, before trudging back to their desks to start on the question paper being passed around.

It went quiet for a long time. Even the top students of the class were having troubles with some of the questions. Donald blanched. What was the difference between RNA and DNA? One had an R? Just as he put pen to paper, Mr Boulder started laughing. It wasn't a happy laugh. It was cutting, mocking, and the students knew that whatever was going to happen next wouldn't be pleasant to any of them.

"Mr Gonzales," he hissed the name like it was a curse, and Panchito looked like a deer in the headlights. "To my desk, please."

Once there, Panchito glanced down at his homework. It looked fine to him. It was neat, it wasn't crumpled, it seemed perfect. What could be wrong with it?

"Did I get a question wrong?" He asked, genuinely concerned. He liked biology. He didn't want to do bad in it!

"I'm counting it as wrong. Do you know why?" He said, voice getting louder. Panchito shook his head. "Because, Mr Gonzales, this is an AMERICAN SCHOOL. That means we write in ENGLISH. If you are here to speak and write Mexican, then I suggest YOU GO BACK TO YOUR OWN GODDAM COUNTRY!"

Panchito stood very still. The entire class was hunched over, or looking at him in morbid curiosity. He smiled up at Mr Boulder, and reached out a hand. He snatched his homework off of his desk and ripped it into a hundred tiny pieces, smiling all the while. As the teacher sputtered, he threw up the once whole sheet and let the pseudo petals drift to the floor in a flurry of white.

Then, he took a little black box out of his trouser pocket. Clicking it, their conversation began to replay, and Mr Boulder suddenly seemed a bit paler than before.

"Wonder what would happen if this found its way to, say, a news station? Or the school intercom? What about, and bear with me here, to the police?" Panchito said with fake brightness. The class was silently rioting behind him. Donald was sitting back, shell shocked, and José was shaking his arm and whispering rapid Portuguese, a massive grin on his face. "Now I suggest everyone in this class get an A plus. Sound fair?"

"I didn't do anything illegal, Gonzales," Mr Boulder seethed. "The police wouldn't do anything."

"Emotional abuse is a crime!" Shouted one of the students. She cringed back as the silence swelled, and muttered defensively. "Well it is. My dad is in jail for it."

"Yeah, and we all have plenty of witness accounts of racial discrimination!" Called another. The room lit up with affirmations, students backing each other up. Mr Boulder suddenly looked very small. Panchito grinned at him, strutted to the door.

"I'll be off to the Head," he called back jovially. "Unless... You have a different idea?"

Mr Boulder looked defeated. He nodded slowly, and the room cheered once more.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Panchi, that was such a smart idea!" José cheered, holding his hands. He spun him in a circle, hugging him and laughing. "He's not gonna be rude or mean to us again!"

Donald grinned, and dragged them away from the main halls. In a less used corridor, he glanced about, and upon seeing no one, grabbed Panchito's cheeks. He kissed him thoroughly, and when they parted, he looked a little star struck.

"If I do that again, do I get another?" He asked, and Donald shrugged. José jumped in next, kissing Panchito all over his face, causing him to giggle.

"We should be careful," Donald suddenly said, whipping around. A gaggle of girls were approaching the corridor, and they leaped apart, casually leaning against lockers and umbrellas alike.

"The uh, answer to your question is absolutely," José said, starting a conversation just to dissuade suspicion. "I'd love to learn guitar."

"Well, we can practice whenever," Panchito replied, quickly assimilating to their illusion. Donald grinned.

"I'm always here to help!"

-/-/-\\-\\-

"You do know I was joking," José blanched as a guitar was given to him.

"Yep. But we weren't," Panchito smirked.

"Now this is a G chord." Donald started, showing José the positions of his fingers. The parrot groaned, and moved to copy him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please berate me. This is wholly filler. It's a filler chapter. It's useless.
> 
> I don't deserve you guys.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you English literature, Harry truly deserves his best life.
> 
> In other news, GCSE's are going... Well.
> 
> I know I'm definitely getting a pass in everything, mostly 6s and 5s, but I'm determined to get a 7 in geography and eng language. That's the story writing part, and yes, I do write fanfic oneshots on official graded creative writing pieces.

 

 

"Hey Xandra!" Called out Panchito. "We brought snacks!"

The goddess poked her head out of the bookshelves, intrigued. She put down her book (Suffragettes; Who Were They?) and joined them by the table. Ari gave a scream, and José tossed him a pack of crisps. He screamed again and disappeared into the rafters.

"I did some reading," Xandra grinned. "Nice to know men took away rights from women and gave them back."

"Sing it sister, men are the worst," Donald said, pulling out several packs of pop corn. He ignored his boyfriends' upset noises, and handed Xandra a salt flavoured one. "Now, Felldrake. How do we get rid of him?"

"First, you will need three amulets," Xandra said, ominously leaning over them. "They are heavily guarded, deep in a labyrinth-"

"Oh, we have those already," José explained, dangling his out of his shirt. "They're useful in finding out if any of us are in danger."

Xandra gaped.

"Oh, and we also met unicorns," Panchito grinned.

"Unicorns are cool," Donald agreed. "Except for the fact that they wanted to skewer you, Panchi."

"Wait, if you have the amulets, then you can just open the basement," Xandra said, cutting in. They turned to her, and cocked their heads. "Just come here. And then you stand here, José don't walk off."

A set of stairs creaked into existence, sinking into a dark passage. Xandra smirked at their faces, and conjured a ball of light in one hand. She led them down, down, down. Once they reached the bottom, she threw the light out, and multiple torches caught fire.

The room glittered gold. Various coins littered the floor, with occasional jewels interwoven. It sparkled and gleaned with strange iridescence, like a dream, but they were awake. Panchito shook his head, trying to see if it was all real.

"Yeah, the cabs unloaded treasure here," Xandra said. "Guess they never really needed it." José giggled under his breath in amazement.

"Well, I could always use it," he muttered, a faraway look on his face. "Mamae could really use less stress right about now."

Donald patted his back, and looked further into the room. At the end, three sets of armour stood on stands, polished and ready for battle. He walked towards them. Xandra made a noise behind him, but he ignored her and traced the curve of the helmet on the middle one and shivered. Had he been here before? No. No, he hadn't. He stepped back, and looked away.

"You'll need this armour to defeat Felldrake," filtered in through the haze. Donald turned back to Xandra and nodded. "Try it on then."

"Look away then," sassed Panchito. Xandra rolled her eyes, but stepped toward the stairs.

Once she was gone, the three began to try to put on the armour. The helmets were simple enough, but they had to go on after the chest plates. And that is where they struggled.

"Help!" Shrieked Donald, running around with his arms in the head hole and halfway encased in the metal. Panchito ran after him, and yelled for him to stop moving. José laughed, and was dressed fully before them. By the time they'd finally put Donald's helmet over his ruffled feathers, it had been half an hour.

"Don't you look like brave Knights?" Cooed Xandra when they emerged. Donald rolled his eyes, and then they bugged out of his head. Next to Xandra sat someone very, very familiar. "Your sister was just chatting to me."

"Della, get out!" Howled Donald. She gave a snicker, and he grew more indignant.

"Nah. Xandra told me what you lot are up to. And I'm just saying, you could use someone who actually did martial arts as a kid," she stuck her tongue out. He rolled his eyes, and turned back to Xandra, who shrugged.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Panchito if I have to correct your posture for the ninth time this evening I swear-!" Della shouted. Xandra had told her she needed to help her teach them learn to fight. Donald was already decent enough, as were most adventurers, but Panchito only knew how to wrestle with his cousins and José... Ran away. "Now, try that again!"

"Dels, why not let them spar?" Donald asked from his seat on the stairs.

"Hmm," she acknowledged, and gained a glint of evil in her eye. She grabbed his collar and dragged him over to the space they'd cleared earlier, throwing him into Panchito's arms. "First to take Donald down completely, five seconds and no getting up, gets pizza. You have one minute."

"What pizza?" Asked José, looking more excited. Della cackled.

"The one I ordered earlier. It was just for Xandra and me, but you can have some of you win," Della smirked. "Now, go!"

Donald gulped and looked to his friends as they advanced. He knew he couldn't beat Panch with brute strength, and José was too smart to try to outwit. This would be an evasion exercise for him, and a capture exercise for his boyfriends. All at once, they attacked.

He ducked under them, rolling to a safe stop a short distance away. José ran for him whilst Panchito waited for Donald to move in another direction. Instead of rolling away from José, Donald jumped and used his shoulders as a springboard, leaping over him and kicking down Panchito in the process. Della called out the first half minute, and he groaned. He got into a lower stance, holding up his fists.

"I'll share with you," José offered, a sly grin on his face. "Maybe you'll get a little something else as well."

"Oh come on!" Shouted Panchito, punching José's shoulder. "No flirting on the battlefield!"

"Why you-" the two began to push at each other, devolving into play fighting. Della blew her whistle half heartedly. She could only watch and sigh as Donald jumped in and started wrestling with them.

She trudged upstairs to Xandra. Pizza was far better than this. At her exasperated look, the goddess lay a hand on her shoulder and gave her an understanding look. Della grinned, and grabbed a slice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *gestures at shitty updates*
> 
> No excuses, I'm just a little bitch.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's nearly June, homosexuals. Time to paint my nails in my pride colours.
> 
>  
> 
> Edit: I'm a fucking idiot. I forgot the sweet fanart.
> 
> https://supesuu.tumblr.com/post/184862520467/hey-i-love-this-fic-by-inerdmuch-its-so
> 
> This is beautiful art, by supersuu on tumblr for my fanfic. Please reblog it, but don't repost it. Give the artist some support!!!

 

 

"Bye bye, Xandra!" Called Panchito, running after the others to the car. She waved back, and he turned too late to notice a young man walking on the pavement. He ran straight into him, and fell to the floor with a grunt. The stranger gasped in shock.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Panchito babbled, scrambling to his feet. The goose gave him a strange look, and his feathers bristled. "What? Never seen a rooster before?"

"A-Apologies," stuttered the stranger. "You just look like one of my friends, and I was struck by how similar you are." Panchito settled down and have him a blinding smile.

"Not to worry; it's okay! Have a nice day," he said, stepping past him and into the back seat with his friends. As they drove away, the man watched them. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost in the flesh, and Panchito wasn't sure what he'd been thinking when they'd bumped into each other.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"See you tomorrow!" Cooed José, leaning on the car door to peck his boyfriend on the cheek. Donald flushed a deep vermillion, and José laughed in pure delight. He waved behind them as they drove off, only going in after they had gone.

"So, how's life with your boyfriends?" Teased Della from the front seat. Donald sighed dreamily.

"Wonderful." He sighed again, touching his cheek where José had kissed him. Della rolled her eyes, in good spirits, and watched as clouds began to gather in the sky.

"Looks like there'll be a storm tomorrow," she said offhandedly. Donald shuddered in response, his mood shattered. "Red sky at night and all that."

"I don't think you're using that phrase correctly," Donald murmured, looking apprehensively out of the window. The sky was bloodstained, and he feared that if it started raining, it would dye his feathers red.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Once they arrived at the manor, Donald hugged his sister goodnight and pattered off to get ready for bed. He put on his clothes sleepily and crawled into his bed. The downy comforts fell over him, and suddenly his eyes were closing like chest filled with treasure.

Outside his window, a raindrop made the lonely fall to earth. Where it hit, no one knows.

-/-/-\\-\\-

School was bustling the next day. As rain pelted the windows, the halls seemed overcrowded. There were signs of disgruntlement everywhere, and even the usual bookworms who sat inside felt cooped up. It seemed only one bird was happy with staying inside that day. Staying inside a toilet stall, that is.

"Oh god, oh god, why," Donald muttered under his breath. Thunder rolled again and he swallowed deeply. He couldn't hide forever. He just needed to call one of his friends, or text them, and then he'd have a hand to hold.

Shakily he opened his phone. There was an influx of sound as some boys came in, boisterously shouting and being nuisances. Donald was grateful that they blocked the thunder for a moment, and texted José and Panchito shakily. The earlier messages confirmed that they knew he was in distress.

Then the boys left, and he was alone.

(Panchiquitito) WHEREMF IS HE

(Josélina) can't you find him? I checked the north.

(Panchiquitito) I'm pretfy sure he's not here Zé

(Me) in boys bathroom. West. By hall.

Donald barely waited half a minute. Before he knew it, Panchito was there, calling out his name softly. Donald stood up and opened the door. He sniffled. José was the next to come in. He caught sight of Donald standing there, and immediately swept him into a hug. He kept saying platitudes in Portuguese, and Panchito offered him some sentiments in Spanish. They each took one of his hands and led him out from the bathroom. Thunder rolled again, and he clutched them tighter.

They made it to a practice room, and Donald could have cried in relief when José put up a sound barrier. He let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding, and coughed.

"Can I share what my older brother used to tell me, when I was scared of something?" José asked, sitting beside him on the piano stool. Panchito hopped on the piano cover, and let his hand rest on Donald's head. Donald gave him a curious look and nodded. "Well, we used to say that we are the thing we fear. I used to be terribly afraid of the big spiders we got in Brasil. My brother used to hold my hand whilst I looked at the spider and shouted. We would both shout, if it was particularly big. We would shout that we were the spider."

"So Donald would shout at the storm?" Panchito asked, cocking his head. José waved his hand in a so-so motion.

"Donald, what you could try is shouting 'I am the storm', at the storm itself," José said, turning back to him. "I can set up a stronger sound barrier, and we could all go shout."

"You know what, José?" Donald said, looking up from his lap and smiling weakly. "I think that's a nice idea."

José grinned, and opened the window. Rain began to drive in, but he didn't care as he set up a strong soundproof dome around them. The green shimmers gave the room a certain glow, and cheesy as it sounds, the effect was magical. Donald grabbed their hands, and they all stood, leaning their heads out of the window. They each took a deep breath; they each mustered up a loud holler; they each screwed their eyes shut.

And they screamed.

"I am the storm." Desperate.

"I am the storm!" Guttural.

"I AM THE STORM!" Together.

They all panted heavily. José took down the barrier as Panchito closed the window, and Donald stopped shaking. He gazed blankly into the distance, and when thunder rolled once again, and lighting flashed, he didn't flinch, or cringe away. It washed over him.

"Thanks, guys," he whispered, voice hurting from the shouting they'd just done. He swallowed. "Thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YEET.
> 
> Comment if u want or don't I love y'all anyway.
> 
> Also, if you do make some art, even if it is just a lil doodle or anything, tag it with #fbf or #friendsbeforefelldrake or use @inerdmuch so I can see it and smother you with love and praise!


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've run out of pre written chapters.
> 
>  
> 
> I don't know what to do.

 

  
They came to the cabana as the sky slowly cleared. Donald walked through the damp front lawn and clasped his boyfriend's hands closer. He didn't want to do any training today. He wanted to relax.

Xandra opened the door, bristling with excitement.

"Are you ready to do some sword drills?" She shouted excitedly. Donald frantically wracked his brain for something less strenuous for the day to progress. He put of his most 'I agree, but here's a plan a little less tiring for us' face.

"I was wondering if we could do an exercise in teamwork," he said, looking away in a non suspicious manner. "It's training."

"Well, let's see!" Xandra demanded, practically gleaming with the thought that the cabs were finally wanting to train. Donald nodded seriously, and trotted over to the desk. He rifled in the draws for a moment, before pulling out a slightly beaten tin. He opened it, and a hundred tiny wooden bricks fell out.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"I'm not sure this could be counted as training," Xandra complained. Donald ignored her, and carefully wiggled the block out of the Jenga tower. He smirked at José, and placed it on his ever growing pile. The parrot narrowed his eyes.

"It's concentration, balance, the ability to keep calm," José replied, searching for a block to pull. He decided the bottom left was his best bet. Softly, softly, softly... He wriggled and teased it. It took some coaxing and several wobbles of the tower, but he finally wrenched it free. "Oh Panchito!"

"Ay, you guys really don't love me, do you?" He dead panned. The structure was void of simple blocks. There were only dangerous choices, and the rooster stroked his chin thoughtfully. He finally selected a brick and tugged. Slowly, carefully, watching with ever vigilant eyes- it crashed to the floor. Bricks scattered, and all that was left was the brick in Panchito's hand, and a stupefied look on his face.

"You, you look like that Pikachu meme!" Wheezed Donald. José snorted. Xandra rolled her eyes, and dragged them up by their collars.

"You guys need to be ready. Felldrake won't just be fighting you, he'll be looking to finish you. You need to be prepared!" She lectured. Donald looked down, chagrined. José rubbed the back of his neck. Panchito winced and looked away. "This isn't a game!"

"Hey party people, guess who's in the hou- oh, you're getting told off," Della said. She was holding a massive bag of marshmallows, and looking at them awkwardly. "I just thought we could do chubby bunny."

"Thanks, Dells," Donald sighed.

"We have to train now," Panchito explained, throwing up a half hearted peace sign. Della nodded sombrely, and walked to the table. She dragged down two massive books from the pile next to it.

"Well, I'll get back to research, and you guys can get back to training," she said, opening the larger tome. "Maybe there's something that could help us."

The boys nodded, and trailed after Xandra to the basement.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"I... Need a rest," panted José. He was the least physical of all of them, and these extra sessions of exercise were wearing him down. Xandra snorted.

"You can rest at the end. There's only five minutes of the drill, then you can stop," she said, not cruelly. He nodded, and lifted his sword again. Beside him, Donald was still flawlessly performing the drill on his dummy. It had a lot of cuts in it. Panchito's drill wasn't perfect, but he was doing a lot of damage. José sighed, and threw himself back into it.

"Xandra! Can you come up here!" Called Della. The goddess started up the stairs, and once the stone sounds had become wooden creaks the trio dropped their weapons and flopped to the floor. José felt like crying.

"I don't think I can keep this up my friends," he admitted, voice croaky. Donald reached over and took his hand, soothing the ache from gripping a sword all evening. "I'm so tired."

"Oh, Zé," Panchito crooned, scooching over. He pulled his boyfriend into his lap. "That's okay."

Donald dragged himself over to them, and continued to massage out the stiffness of his arms, up to his elbows and down to his fingers. José cooed, sinking further into Panchito's feathers. He didn't want to get up. His body hurt, he was tired, he wasn't sleeping enough, and now the threat of someone who could kill them at any time? It was too much. He'd eaten his portion and his plate was still overflowing.

His amulet began to hum out a note. It was followed by Donald's, then Panchito's, creating a triad of different pitched humming. The harmony seemed to seep into his bones, and his tiredness lifted a little bit. His heart felt lighter. A wave of emotion washed over him, coating him, and soothing him.

The three were surrounded by a sweet iridescent glow. Rainbows swirled around the little bubble they'd made.

"So that what you meant by minor healing abilities," Xandra's voice filtered in. The bubble splintered, shattering along hairline cracks and tinkling like musical glass to the floor. "Okay cabs, training is over for today. Get your lovesick bodies home, and rest."

None of them argued or complained.

However, on the way out, José paused. He gave a gesture for the group to go on ahead of him, and turned to face the flustered goddess perusing the bookshelves. He tapped her arm twice, and she looked down.

"I'm sorry that I cannot keep up with the others," José said. "But I am a magic user. I'm not getting enough sleep, and it's taking a toll on my body. So if I fall behind in training-"

"Why didn't you tell me you can use magic?!" Shrieked Xandra. "You'd be a great Mage! Where's your power source?"

"I don't think-!"

"Nonsense!" Xandra laughed, picking him up and swinging him around. "No matter how little magic you have, even a simple freezing charm can tilt a battle! From now on mister, you are studying magic, not melee. Oh, this is wonderful!"

"It is?" He asked, doubtful. She put him on the floor again, and ushered him to the door. "How? I'm just a little witch!"

"Little things can do big wonders," Xandra said, smiling. "Now get some rest. We're doing spell work tomorrow."

José felt the door close behind him, and blinked. Huh. No more sword drills.

His face split into a grin. He was so bragging about this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no plan. Comment on what you think should happen, and I will magpie bits I like and credit u in the notes


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Once more) I have no plan. Comment on what you think should happen, and I will magpie bits I like and credit u in the notes
> 
> BTW, gets a bit dark after Xandra says 'I'll show you'. 
> 
> Raw for gore, death and general bad stuff

 

  
"No, we are not destroying a school!" Snapped Sheldgoose. Felldrake huffed, slipping further down the stone wall. Sheldgoose was hunched over his desk, writing laboriously and scratching things out occasionally. "Especially not where I'm giving a speech to teenagers."

"Yeah, well, at least I have an idea for getting rid of the cabs and taking their amulets," Felldrake petulantly hissed. Sheldgoose grabbed him and shoved him under his bed. There were muffled shouts for a few moments, empty threats, but he soon quietened down.

Several hours later, Sheldgoose dragged him out and wiped the dust bunnies off of his golden body, propping him against the wall again. Felldrake didn't speak. He had been reminded of his weakness once more, and was in deep contemplation.

He needed those amulets. Fast.

A muttered half sentence made him rethink his plan. This would be a lot longer with this soft nincompoop as his only mode of transport. How was he to awaken Leopold?

-/-/-\\-\\-

"I don't wanna do assembly," grumbled Panchito. The hall was quickly filling, and being a head or so taller than the other students really made him feel like a highlighter among black pencils. Not to mention, he was really tired. Who cared about any motivational speeches, or attempts to get the students more invested in work? Not him.

"C'mon, it's only fifteen minutes," coaxed Donald.

"My friend, you can just close your eyes and pretend to be elsewhere," José said. "It's what I do."

"Whatever," Panchito muttered, sitting down. This was going to suck, he just knew it. As the auditorium finally filled, he cast glazed eyes towards the stage. The goose looked kind of... Familiar? He squinted, confused. The curve of his beak, the glint in his eye, the awful spats he wore...

"Ahem. Hello students of Middleupdown school, my name is Baron von Sheldgoose!" He said. It clicked. This was the guy he's bumped into! Panchito tilted his head. "Today, I'm here to talk to you about..."

His voice trailed off as he caught sight of three certain students in the crowd. It was hard to not notice them, green, red, blue. The colours swirled before him, and he lost his train of thought. How? The three...? Shaking his head, he continued.

"About how life can be hard; and how from that hardness, there can come oppurtunity."

-/-/-\\-\\-

"I bumped into that guy a while ago," Panchito mention nonchalantly. Donald raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"What do you mean?" Asked José, bored. "When he ruined our date or another time?"

Silence.

"That's Felldrake?" Hissed Donald. "Oh no. Nuh uh. How could you be sure?"

"Well, I could feel his power," José started. "So that was a dead giveaway. His voice is pretty recognisable, and also he fits the body type of the guy that interrupted us."

Panchito and Donald felt out of their depths. How had they not known? It seemed so obvious now that it was laid out before them. Panchito rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"If I said that I may have walked into him outside of the cabana, how would you react?" He mumbled.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"What do you mean, Felldrake was at your school?" Xandra yelled. "Did you at least fight him?!" Three confused faces stared back at her, unaware of their fates.

"Well, no," one of them muttered. She didn't care who. She growled and stormed to the book shelves, angrily muttering. Her teeth ground, and her fists clenched, and little spots of light sparked from her golden skin. Then she took a deep breath. Then another.

It wasn't working. But then again, had it ever? She cursed her temper sometimes.

"Xandra," started Panchito, "why is he so bad again? So far he's just been... What's the word? A fool."

The goddess sighed, and her shoulders began to shudder a bit. She sniffed, and turned to face them, and midnight mists began to swirl around them.

"Let me show you."

-/-/-\\-\\-

_There was a lot on fire._

_A child's sandal was battered by the side of the road, leather and wood scuffed. There was someone screaming. There were a lot of people screaming. In the discordant harmonies of the shrieks were the sobs of mothers and fathers, calling in desperation. Names flew on the wind like the ashes of the homes around them._

_"Caecilius!" A mother's despairing call to a son, who could only garble through the blood in his mouth._

_"Markus!" A father, digging through burning piles of what once was a happy home, hopelessly hurting at his son's scared squeals._

_"Laria!" A mother sobbed, her daughter not moving no matter how hard she pushed the beam on top of her._

_"Samara!" A father, blood on his hands, stricken with woe as his daughter dragged herself on one leg towards him, crying his name._

_José looked ready to throw up, edging away from the centre of the street. His foot hit something wet, and he looked down. Whimpering, he noted that it was red, red, red. And it was warm. Donald steeled his nerves, steadying himself and stonily looking about. He assessed the horrors. He refused to get emotional. Panchito was saying a prayer, crossing his body slowly and holding back tears._

_And in the midst of it, Xandra stood. And she watched._

_A ruckus alerted them of new arrivals. The three spin to see near mirror images of them. Well, older versions at least. It made them feel strange. It was almost uncanny, the way the held themselves._

_Donald's lookalike began by rounding up as much water as he could. Panchito's was helping people reunite, and José's? Well, he was busy talking with what looked to be a much younger Xandra. The young goddess nodded, determined, and disappeared in a flash._

-/-/-\\-\\-

The vision began to crumble and melt, and suddenly they were all back in the cabana. The sun set a golden gauze over the room, and there was no noise besides the heavy breathing from each of them.

"That was the last time I saw the cabs," Xandra murmured. "I never found out if they saved that village."

"Oh," said Donald, weakly. "Oh."

And that's all he said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to like and subscribe ya da ya da ya da
> 
>  
> 
> Also; Middleupdown


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck lads just spent two hours writing and editing to get these next chapters out on time YEET

 

José sat mumbling over his school assigned death meal, also known as 'lunch', blinking slowly and not eating. Donald waved a hand in front of his face, and he looked up.

"Hi, I'm Ethan, and I'm fourteen," he half-sang, "I can't forget the horrors that I have seen." Donald snorted. If he was reciting tiktok trends, he was probably fine. Panchito simply kept stealing his chips. He glanced out of the window at the dismal greys of the sky, and involuntarily shivered.

It was getting colder. Now that November was nearly over, Christmas decorations were becoming more prominent, and by the LORD did Panchito and José find it weird. José found it most disconcerting, having never been very religious. He'd barely celebrated Christmas at home, but with some of the treasure at the cabana, he'd managed to buy his family each a nice, new gift.

Donald was still unsure what to get either of them. He'd considered making them something, but he had no idea what. Little did he know that the others had the same reservations.

Panchito had thought about making them some food, before scrapping the idea. He'd seen something in the window of a shop that he'd thought was a good idea, until the price whacked him in the face and left him smarting.

José had had the same luck. He'd wracked his brain, spending hours tossing and turning at night to think of the perfect gift. The existential thought of next year also plagued him. He'd then spent time falling into a hole full of embarrassing scenarios.

This, of course, meant changing clothes.

José had come prepared, with long coats and warm boots, tying his hair back with gloved hands. His coats were all homemade, blacks and blues and even a brilliant scarlet one. That was his favourite. He wore cream coloured boots, lined with fluff, so he rarely shivered outside.

Donald, of course, had his own puffy coats, shiny and green, muted and wool imbedded. He wore a beanie, little Pom Pom on top, and blushed whenever it was commented on. He's protest that his Granny made it for him.

Panchito? Panchito was a bit optimistic. He'd brought a few long sleeve shirts, and a few pairs of thick trousers, but it was getting bitter as the days got darker faster, and he wasn't dealing with it well. For the time being, until his Mother sent a coat over from Mexico, he had to make do with his host family's biggest one. It was a royal blue, buttoned up the front in a trench coat style.

Della had laughed and told them they had switched colours. Donald had stuck his tongue out and pointed at her (unfortunately bright) pink jacket. She'd quickly dropped the subject.

"So. Xandra says we'll do some different training tonight," Panchito said. Donald scoffed, and patted José on the beak.

"What about poor Ethan?" He said, jokingly pulled him into a tight hug. "He's just fourteen!" Panchito gave his a disappointed look, and pointedly took Donald's apple. He ate it in three bites, and tossed it into the trash can behind him without looking.

A few first years clapped in semi-automatic wonder.

"Yeah. She told me we'd do magic," José said. "I'm gonna guess it's to do with our amulets. Remember what preDonald was doing with the water?"

"You mean how he was swirling his hands and making clouds out of buckets?" Donald said, miffed at the idea that he was postDonald.

"Actually, he was using blue magic; storm making and taming!" José's voice turned to a whisper, and they all leaned in. "So I have to bet that's what you'll do, Donal', and Panchito, your amulet is-!"

"Red?" Panchito asked, confused. José rolled his eyes.

"Don't interrupt! Now, red is interesting, because most red users are from the Ancient Egypt, hence why it's so rare. You can call upon the Elemental spirits of the wind!"

Silence.

"What does that even mean?" Whimpered the rooster, confused.

"Well, there's all sorts of wind spirits!" José said enthusiastically. "There's the big ones, Henkhisesuis, God of the East wind, Hutchai, God of West wind, Qebui of the North and finally Shehbui, God of South. There's also Shu, but he's only air, and he was mostly used for swift messages."

"How do you know so much?"  
Asked Donald, flabbergasted. José shrugged.

"Just grew up with it, y'know. Bet you can recount things no one else can about the gold rush or something." He shrugged again, and glanced at the clock. He began shovelling food in his mouth, and stood up. Donald looked over and paled.

"We're gonna be late!" Panchito moaned.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"The protons and electrons of an atom are always..." The teachers droning voice faded into the background. There was a rush of blood in his ears. José felt time slow down, moving at a fraction of its usual rate.

Breath locked in his throat, he looked out the window.

Felldrake looked back, Sheldgoose waving next to him.

He looked away, and tried to breath. His heart pounded louder than anything else, and he focuses on his magic tightly. Down the hall. To the left. Add the pressure and-

"Okay everyone, it seems we have an unplanned fire drill," the teacher said, listening to the insistent ring. Please make your way out in orderly lines."

When he looked back again, José could only see his reflection in the window.

Outside, in the cold, lined up and waiting to be let back inside, students began to marvel at the snow that started falling. Panchito shivered and grumbled, but seemed pleased anyway with the novelty version of water. José smiled at his wonder, and frowned internally. What could it mean? Seeing him here?

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Thanks again for driving us, Mr Duckworth Sir!" Panchito trilled. Donald snorted as the car drove off, rubbing his arm affectionately.

"You don't have to call him sir," he said gently. Donald grabbed him by the front of his coat and pulled him down into a soft kiss. José cleared his throat.

Panchito and Donald stared at him, and then they were all laughing. How preposterous. To leave out one of them was to leave out all of them!

They made their way inside, gleeful and ready to face training. Magic prickled at a certain parrots fingertips, and by the Lord was he going to finally set it all loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those wind spirits? Actual Egyptian gods right there. I did my research so I hope to FUCK it pays off.
> 
> Btw @Electric_Aqua, thanks for the cool suggestions! I ended up using their idea for Donald, so credit and kudos to you


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me adding PLOT to a mostly FILLER chapter!!!

 

The second they had walked in they were called downstairs. Their resident Goddess was lighting candles and setting up various tables (which were actually stools, because of the issue with a lack of said tables). She grinned at them, beckoning them closer.

"Okay, I've set up a little magic workshop," she exclaimed. José glanced behind her, intrigued. A little archaic in his opinion, but still pretty comprehensive. "Line up at these workshops, read the instructions, and once you think you've mastered it call me over. José, you'll start a few tables away from these two, as your prior knowledge gives you an advantage. Ready? Go!"

An hour later, Xandra stalked her way to and fro, sizing up the new Caballeros. José she had high hopes for when it came to magic. Already, he was proficient in green, passing in pink and somewhat okay in purple. Donald was the next best. He didn't seem scared, or wavering. He held his amulet and stood resolute, trying to make it glow as she'd instructed. There were some flickers, but his light was holding steady. Panchito was... Well...

He'd not moved from his first table, and was desperately trying to get his amulet to show any signs of magic. It shone, but only in the way any polished glass would. He was optimistic though, coaxing it in a soft voice and he willed as hard as he could.

It wasn't working.

"Hey, Donald, how did you get yours to glow?" He asked, finally reaching out for assistance. Donald paused, letting his amulet fade away as he thought hard.

"I guess I kinda just... Thought 'glow' really strongly until it did," he mumbled, unsure. "It felt like something sort of... Snapped? In a way? And then I could make it glow easily."

"Huh. Well, I'll try that," Panchito said thoughtfully, and turned to stare hard at his stone. It became intense to watch when, four minutes later, he hadn't blinked. He glared harder, harder, harder!

And something went _click_ in his mind.

His amulet sparked, deep scarlet inside garnet, and that little spark grew to a blinding tower of light. The faint sound of galloping was heard, and both Xandra and José made a dive towards Panchito. Xandra got there first, breaking his connection with his amulet. The beacon shimmered away, and slowly, slowly, the galloping faded.

"Well. There's your proof that red users are volatile," José panted from the floor. His feathers were in disarray. He gulped. "Yeah. Panchi, darling, sweet heart, meu sol, please only unleash that in the most dire of circumstances."

"Si," he replied shakily. He wobbled a bit, and promptly sat on the floor. "I feel... Dizzy."

"You've used to much magic in one go," Xandra said gently. "Take the rest of today off. Next time, try to be very specific with what you want."

Donald watched this with a calculating eye. Panchito's magic beat him in brute strength. José's magic was unmatched in skill. His magic? He stared deep into his amulet. Well. He'd have to find out.

"José, what does blue magic do again?" He asked, not looking up. "You said storms, huh?"

José nodded cautiously.

"I might need to sit you guys down tomorrow to discuss magic, but yes," he said. Donald nodded slowly, beginning to form an idea in his head.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Thank you again, Xandra!" Called José. His boyfriends both shouted matching statements, Panchito's a little less exuberant than usual. She waved them off, but smiled to herself.

In time, they'd surely become as close to her as the first were. Her face fell at a certain thought. If they'd stop flirting enough for her to teach them.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Beans. Spill 'em." Donald said. The group had decided that the weather was dismal enough to hide in the library, Mr Anderson happily letting them in when they'd offered him some chocolates. Librarians, right?

Panchito leaned in as well. He'd perked up after food and rest, and his magic fatigue would be gone completely by tomorrow. His feathers prickled up in excitement.

"I wrote a list," José said quietly, sliding it over. It read as follows;

_ Red magic: summoning wind spirits (Panchito this is you!!!!) _

_ Orange magic: teleportation (dumb and tiring but ultimately badass as hell when need be) _

_ Yellow magic: plants / animal communication _

_ Green magic: sound ;) _

_ Blue magic: storms (Donald this u <3) _

_ Purple magic: shields and protection _

_ Pink magic: smoke and illusions _

_ Grey magic: light bending _

_ Black magic: literally just cleaning _

_ White magic: spells for specific needs _

_ Brown Magic: the perfect clapback _

  
"What's that last one?" Asked Donald, an eyebrow raised. José looked away, blushing under his feathers.

"That's technically the ability to have the final word," he muttered. "You always have the right words to finish something."

Donald raised an eyebrow further, but said nothing. He privately wondered if he could learn it.

"So there is magic for everything?" Panchito whispered, bewildered.

"Well, no," José said. "There's no magic for technology, really, or electricity unless you count lightning storms. And there's nothing there for fertility, so that's a myth that witches can bless people with babies. Also, there's absolutely zero magic to help finish math homework. Trust me," he scowled at this point. "I tried."

Sensing scandal, Della popped her head around a bookshelf. The three boys screamed in silence, jumping out of their seats. She laughed, before sliding into a chair near them. She leaned on her twin's shoulder, and grinned at him when he grumbled.

"What's the sitch?" She intoned, desperate for some drama. Donald shrugged her off, and ruffled he hair. In retaliation, she simply flicked his beak. He returned with a wet finger in her ear. Before this could devolve into a terrible sibling war, Panchito intervened the best way his mind first thought of.

He shoved Della away with one hand and placed a soft kiss on Donald's cheek, hugging him with the other. Della mimed puking. Donald melted and became intensely docile.

"Ahem?" Coughed José, pointing to his own cheek expectantly. Panchito looked him up and down, and shrugged. "Excuse you? Donal', come give me a kiss, this brute has no affection for me!"

Donald took his hand and pressed a kiss to it absentmindedly. Della retched again.

"Don't make me bring up Saran," he hissed at her. Della paled, and nodded quickly. "S'what I goddam thought. What do you need?"

"Oh yeah," her face lit up, realisation causing her to smile. "'Cause you got home too late for dinner with us, Scrooge told me about the trip without you!"

"Where to now?" Donald groaned. Della grinned, and poked José.

"Well, we have a certain guy in our midst who lives there!" She crowed. The librarian hissed at her, displeased. Donald offered Mr Anderson an apologetic smile, before promptly freaking out.

"Oh, this is gonna be sweet!" José chuckled as he began to smile brighter than a million suns. Then, their faces fell, and they turned to Panchito. They expected him to be upset, but instead he looked... Excited?

"Mama planned for me and two of my cousins to go to Rio as well!" He said. "I was gonna tell you later, but then Donald said he'd come as well!"

"Why are your cousins coming?" Asked José.

"Well, Cousin Deandra is really into her studies of American colonisation, so this is her Latin America experience," Panchito admitted. "Cousin Julio has been offered a week of experience at a hospital. And Mama said 'doesn't José live there?' and now I'm coming with because she thought it would be nice for us to see each other around Christmas."

The conversation continued, but a thought lurked in the back of all of their heads.

What the hell should they get as presents for each other?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm setting up inner conflict I swear. I'm definitely not writing self indulgent stuff about picking gifts for loved ones. Fluff? In this fanfic? No. Never.


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two chapters will be a bit weird

 

That evening, José got to his host parents house at a good time. He ate a good (if bland) dinner. He washed himself. He scrolled through his social media feeds, looking at memes. But he couldn't sleep.

He lay there for an hour, desperately trying to sleep. He counted sheep, he practiced breathing methods, and felt like he was being watched. He tried to block it out, ignore it, shut it all down. But he couldn't sleep.

He went downstairs, drank a glass of warm milk. He went back upstairs, and started to play some calming music. He completed a homework assignment and mentally planned out some escapades for his friends. But he couldn't sleep.

He cast a spell. It wore him down, taking his energy. He cast another, little flickers lights in different colours, sound barriers, sounds of instruments, animals, people, cars, plants, everything. But he couldn't sleep.

His amulet began to glow, and he wondered why dread was settling so low in his stomach. He dimly wondered if anyone else had a glowing amulet. He wondered if anyone else was awake.

He was correct about the former. He was incorrect about the latter.

He wanted to sleep.

-/-/-\\-\\-

José started seeing Felldrake and Sheldgoose everywhere. Not just their faces, but flashes of them, traces of magic.

At every street corner he paused. He glanced behind his shoulder constantly, paranoia growing as he continued to see flashes of gold, white, purple. His boyfriends were beginning to take notice. They started asking him questions. They started watching over him as he desperately tried to sleep at lunch times. They started asking Xandra about protective spells.

They hovered over him and it annoyed him immensely. He was just tired and dumb. Why couldn't they leave him alone?

He'd said as much, and Panchito began to tear up.

So he'd apologised relentlessly, and though his boyfriends immediately forgave him... He felt awful; he'd hurt Panch. The most sweet and innocent guy ever.

José growled low in his throat. He didn't understand. Why was it happening to him, and not the others? He was losing sleep, losing patience, and worst of all, he was loosing his luscious feathers. It wasn't even his moulting season! There's was only so much he could do, without guidance. That was it! Guidance!

He called his mother.

"José, what are you asking?" She had begged of him. "Why are you so vague? What are these hypotheticals?" She became distressed at his questions, not understanding his roundabout ways of asking things.

He'd changed the subject. Then he'd hung up. He'd briefly heard his brothers and sisters chattering in the background, asking if he was alright.

He didn't call his family to ask again.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Xandra was the one who finally lost it. He'd been refusing to do his task, to tired to even muster up a even little bit of magical prowess. He was sore and sleepy and jumpy all at once. He couldn't even lift his amulet into the air.

"You're being scryed on," Xandra murmured, breathless. "You've only noticed because you have such a proficiency in magic!" José wanted to ask what that meant. He decided he couldn't be bothered.

His head felt fuzzy.

"What does that mean?" Donald asked, lifting water out of buckets and making clumsy clouds that were just a little to condensed.

"To scry on someone is to use magic to watch them," Xandra explained. "It's a technique that involves a mirror, something of the victim and a lot of invasive watching. José is being scryed on, and we need to break the connection, now."

"How?" Panchito clucked worriedly. Xandra set her face into a stony expression. Without speaking, she drew a golden arrow and notched it in her bow of light.

"Nolite omni aspectu," she murmured, and before anyone could stop her, she fired.

Straight.

At.

José.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Sheldgoose flinched back as his mirror shattered violently. It cut his left hand and he cursed, the blood staining the little green feather that one of the caballeros had dropped. Felldrake hissed angrily.

"This cannot be!" He roared. "Find another mirror, we must keep watching their plans!"

Sheldgoose laughed nervously, and pointed to the wall.

There were several ornate mirrors around the house. Each and every looking glass was splintered into a million fractals, through the protective force of the Goddess of Adventure.

It was an unsettling thing, to look at their distorted reflections and have the sinking feeling that they had underestimated their enemies.

-/-/-\\-\\-

After the two had stopped screaming in fear and shock, Xandra patiently explained that she'd just freed José of his watched to Donald and Panchito. Respectively, one sighed in relief and the other began sobbing in confusion.

José sat up. His head was clear, and suddenly everything made more sense. A deep grudge set in his chest, icy glass pressing over his heart.

They would pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeet
> 
> I apologise that this is so short. I wanted to convey how confusing and muddled José was feeling. So I left it before I got too detailed.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know they both short. I lost interest in the fandom literally three weeks ago. These chapters have been hard to write.
> 
> I'll finish this if it kills me though.

 

  
The bags were packed. The trip was drawing nearer. And Donald still had no clue what to get his boyfriends.

Della had suggested buying them something expensive and shiny, but Donald outright refused. That felt too much like flaunting his money. Scrooge had suggested something practical. Duckworth tried telling him to find something they'd like.

Donald had no idea.

It took two weeks of frustrated browsing, near temper bursts and one mildly traumatised child before he could admit any form of defeat. He dragged himself out of so many shops he almost felt as if dragging himself in another would kill him.

And then he saw the magazine. It came with two balls of warm, soft wool, and a knitting pattern, and a little guide on crocheting. He'd bought it immediately, along with several more brightly coloured wools. He knew then what to do.

He bought it, but not before dashing into another shop. Then he reemerged, and Duckworth gave a sigh of relief. They finally had put an end to the atrocious trip.

-/-/-\\-\\-

The clacking of needles accompanied him late into the night, his rows becoming neater, his creation forming, a pattern springing up as he worked. Long after his music faded away, and the moon became his only light, he toiled. He'd regret it in the morning, but damn was he going to make a good start.

Click, clack. Click, clack.

It became a rhythm that his heart beat to, and with every purl and every neat new line, he thought more and more of José and Panchito. He hoped the colours were bright enough. Lavenders, lily whites and light yellows for José. Brazen cobalt, burning red and bold blacks for Panchito.

He went to sleep with two vague objects that still needed to be sewn. Sewing was easy. The knitting had been the hard part. Not to mention the crocheting still left to do.

-/-/-\\-\\-

Panchito called his mother. He called Aunts and Uncles. He did not call Verónica. Again and again he got the same answer. He hated hearing it, but it was the only advice they could give, and he refused to fault them for it.

'A gift from the heart'. What was that supposed to mean? From the heart? He knew he had a heart, because it beat so loudly when he was around Donald and José. But a gift from there was so very hard to come up with.

He looked at his chest and frowned. His mother told him that his father had given her a beautiful bracelet made from wires and gemstones. Before he left her in the dust for some LA model. He liked to forget about his father a lot of the time.

There weren't many pretty gems around Duckberg, but there was plenty of wire and a lot of cool looking pebbles. If worst came to worst, he always could paint them bright colours.

-/-/-\\-\\-

The next day he was out, searching grassy areas and subtly slipping interesting river-smoothed rocks into his pockets and bag. He only stopped collecting them when he began to clack as he walked. A woman gave him an odd look, almost as if she thought him precious for picking up pebbles like a preteen.

He resented that a little bit.

When he got home, he borrowed a roll of wire and washed the rocks clean, before sitting up for hours after everyone else was asleep, twisting wires and comparing rocks.

Yes, that shiny smooth one for José. No, not that red one; Donald wouldn't suit that. Perhaps that shade of blue could be used instead, perhaps not.

His fingers prickled, and he eventually had to stop to get gloves. Twisting began again, and discarded rocks lay on the floor.

-/-/-\\-\\-

José was running about, worrying. He called his Mamae, and she suggested that when he came to Rio, she'd show him one of her most romantic gifts, and maybe that would inspire him.

So he waited patiently until the end of term. He waited patiently on the plane. He waited patiently until his mother showed him. Then he waited, rather impatiently, until he was allowed to go out and collect materials.

And materials he did collect. It took him a few hours, but back in the sunny heat of Rio he did not care, and he was home to work.

Threads, wires, pretty sequins from an elderly neighbour who had no use for them, fabrics, dyes and a stick of gum. The last thing was just so he could chew as he worked.

-/-/-\\-\\-

"Do you need help with that?" Asked one of his brothers, Warwick, as he placed the plastic bag on the table.

"Nope!" He called, washing his hands and settling into his chair. Warwick looked at the assortment of items and simply walked away. His little brother was an enigma, and his magic had greatly improved up north. He could sense his magic quite a way off now.

Sometimes that scared him a little bit.

The lights stayed on in the kitchen all night. Sometimes José would use magic to quieten his work, and other times to hurry up the drying process. Slowly, he sewed and crafted, dyeing fabrics with one hand and selecting shiny sequins with the other. He dipped and dashed and stuck wires here and there to keep the structure up. Slowly, slowly, slowly, two marvellous creations were built up.

As the sun rose, he looked on his unfinished artworks, and admired his hard work. He wiped a hand across his beak, then panicked as it got stuck there, still wet glue sticking him down. He almost ran to his mother, before realising he was in the kitchen, where there was a convenient sink right next to him.

The intricate figurines of his boyfriends stood proudly in the morning light, sequinned clothing glittery and hand sewn eyes blank. He knew his mother had the best ideas when it came to gifts, but he was doubting a little bit. Was it too over the top?

He thought about Panchito. He thought about Donald. He smiled.

Nah. They were just right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can y'all like....
> 
> Comment on this one.
> 
> Please?
> 
> It'd be really nice, and my exams haven't been the best this past week. So I could use some reassurance.

**Author's Note:**

> (I'm writing this for me, so if you don't like it you don't have to continue. This is what I want to read.)
> 
> I have a Tumblr! You can check for updates and shenanigans there, and request ficlets and oneshots!
> 
> It's called; inerdmuch, just like my name here!!
> 
> Character designs for this fic are up, but be warned, I cannot draw.


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